Twice the Speed of Life
by Mahone-chic-89
Summary: AMERICAN CHOPPER: The Teutul's have butted heads since OCC was created but when feuds become personal the company and family begin to disintegrate. Jr. has a new love interest but with all the tension in the shop, their relationship is soon in jeopardy
1. Fully Summary and Introduction

**Disclaimer**: I own no one besides my OC, Kyra

**Featured Cast in this story**:

Paul Sr., Paul Jr., Mikey, Vinnie, and Rickie along with my OC Kyra Knightly

**Full Summary:**

The Teutul's have been butting heads since Orange County Choppers was founded, but when feuds become personal the corporation and family unit begin to disintegrate. Paul Jr. finds himself falling for the new designer, Kyra Knightly, who Paul Sr. recently hired in an effort to get a girl's take on a new line of choppers designed specifically for women. Kyra catches on to the policies and the organization of the shop quickly and begins to assist in the designs of the specialty bikes as well. The more time she spends with Jr., the closer the two become. However, in the midst of a potential budding romance the tension mounting in the shop escalates to all new heights. A mechanic who's been around for several years and is a good friend of the Teutul family calls it quits when the feuds become more frequent and more violent. Kyra and Jr. begin to experience their own issues when Jr. takes his anger out on Kyra after a particularly vicious fight with his dad and soon everything Jr. has worked so hard to achieve and the people closest to him begin to crumble to the ground around him. Later, a medical emergency forces everyone to reconsider their priorities and figure out what's really important in life…and that it's not all about the bikes, the money, and the fame…

**Author's Note: **

This idea has been playing in my mind for awhile and I wanted to go ahead and write it down before I lose any of the thoughts/ideas I have. I'm getting ready to head back to college so there's a good chance I won't touch this for quite some time (I may get a chance to post a couple chapters in the next two weeks before I leave but that's about it) but I wanted to generate some interest and start formulating a plot and other ideas to add to the story as well. I'm going to make a community for American Chopper since it's not a category here on fanfiction and I'll go ahead and add whatever other stories there are about American Chopper to the community. Feel free to let me know what you think and what could change or be added to the story. I'll work on the story via my journal while at college (particularly the boring classes lol) so that when I'm on breaks from school I can just type the chapters up real fast and update the story whenever possible.


	2. Kyra Knightly

**Here's the first chapter! : ) I'm gonna be busy all weekend so I wanted to get something started before the weekend starts. That and I got a lot to do the next couple weeks till I head back to school. I'll try and get a couple more chapters posted if at all possible, then once I head back to school I'll keep jotting ideas down in my journal and I'll post whenever I can. **

**Disclaimer: I own no one besides my OC Kyra**

Kyra Knightly

It was early Monday morning when Paul Jr. entered the Orange County Choppers shop. He yawned and stretched as he opened the door and stepped inside. The crew had been up late the night before trying to design the specialty bike for Bass Pro Shops and as far as Paul Jr. was concerned, they hadn't made much progress.

Paul opened the door to the room where he did most of his drawings, sketches and formulated ideas and stopped mid-step. His brow furrowed in confusion as he looked at the girl sitting in his chair. She was small in size, maybe five foot four inches in height and had shoulder-length brown hair with hazel highlights. Paul studied her for a moment longer before he cleared his throat to get her attention. She turned around at once and met Paul's gaze. Her light brown eyes were as striking as they were beautiful. Paul glanced away for a moment to collect his thoughts before he spoke.

"Um…who are you and why are you in my office?" he asked, sounding a bit more intimidating than he had intended to sound.

"Oh, I'm Kyra," said the young woman as she stood up and held out her hand, "Paul Sr. hired me for the new designer position."

"I'm Paul Jr., his son," replied Paul as he shook her hand, "And what new designer position? He didn't tell me anything about this."

Kyra shrugged, "All I know is that I was laid off at the Ford factory after the plant closed down and I put an ad in the paper saying that I was lookin' for a job. Next thing I know your dad called me and said he wanted me to come in and help design some bikes."

"Do you have any experience?" asked Paul Jr., skeptically.

"I've designed new paint schemes and different parts for cars and trucks at Ford," replied Kyra confidently, "I've done several sketches of bikes before just for fun…I always wanted to design my own bike. Your dad says you guys are doing a new line of bikes for women? That's where I come in…I'm supposed to help design and fabricate them."

Paul Jr. looked like he was going to explode, "A new line of bikes for women? Are you kidding me? I own half this damn company and he doesn't even tell me what the hell is going on!"

Kyra flinched a little at Junior's tone. Paul saw her reaction and forced himself to calm down. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Okay, fine…whatever, I'm…I'm gonna go talk to him, okay? In the mean time, don't touch my stuff."

Kyra rolled her eyes in exasperation as Paul left the room, slamming the door behind him. This guy sure had a temper that was for sure. But little did Kyra know…this was merely the beginning…

…

"Dad, what the hell?" shouted Paul Jr. as he barged into his dad's office.

Paul Sr. whirled around in his office chair to face his enraged son. His eyes flashed dangerously as Junior yelled at him.

"What the hell is with this Kyra chic and this line of bikes for women? I own half this damn company so why don't I know anything about this? Shouldn't you at the very least ask my opinion about these things before you just go out and do them?"

"I founded this place, I'm your father, so I'll do whatever the hell that I want!" roared Senior. He lowered his voice a little before he continued, "I hired Kyra because she got laid off from her other job and she's an expert designer and we could use a woman's touch around here anyway. And yes I'm gonna start a new line of bikes designed for women and no I didn't tell you yet because I just decided this last night so I hadn't gotten around to telling you till now. Happy?"

Paul Jr. growled irritably as he shook his head, "Whatever, Dad…I'd just really appreciate knowing what the hell is going on in here once and awhile."

"Shut up and get to work," grumbled Senior, "I've got more important things to do than sit here and listen to you bitch about everything."

Junior cursed his dad under his breath as he stormed out of the room and headed back to the designing office.

…

Kyra looked up as Junior barged through the door for the second time that morning.

"Talk to your dad?" she asked as he sat down behind the desk that sat behind her station.

"Sort of," muttered Junior irritably as he pulled out a sketch pad and started drawing.

"So…what are you working on?" asked Kyra as she turned around in her seat to see what Paul Jr. was sketching.

"Why's it any of your business?" snapped Paul, "Aren't you supposed to be designing girly bikes or something?"

Kyra's eyes narrowed in anger, "Why do you have to be so rude? I just got here…I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do and since you're part owner of this place I kinda was expecting to receive some sort of guidance from you."

Paul Jr. sighed and rubbed his tired, blood-shot eyes. He felt a tad guilty for snapping at the new girl, but he just didn't have the patience this morning to deal with training a newbie.

"You just do whatever the hell my dad tells you to do," muttered Paul, "Apparently that's what we all do around here now…no one else gets a say in what goes on."

Kyra frowned at the bitterness she heard in Paul's voice. She suspected that there was some sort of rift between Paul Jr. and Paul Sr. and whatever it was, it appeared to run pretty deep.

"Hey-o brother-man!" announced a goofy-looking man with long, curly red hair as he walked into the room, "Oh…and hello to you there 'mam."

Kyra smirked slightly as the goofy-looking guy reached for her hand and kissed the top of it. He wasn't a small man by any means and his long, red, curly hair looked like it was in desperate need of conditioner and a comb. He was wearing a short-sleeve t-shirt and shorts despite the fact that it was thirty degrees outside that morning.

"What do you want Mikey?" grumbled Paul, never looking up from his sketch pad.

"He's in a bad mood this morning apparently," said Kyra as she shot Paul Jr. a glare over her shoulder.

Mikey smirked at that, "Oh trust me sweetheart, my brother's always in a crappy mood."

Kyra raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Your brother?"

"Yep…he's the oldest, I'm the youngest," answered Mikey as he held out his hand, "I'm Mike, but everyone here calls me Mikey. I don't really have a specific title as to what I do around here. I'm sort of an assistant slash comedic relief guy."

"In other words he doesn't actually work here," grumbled Paul, "He walks around and acts like he's doing something or he annoys the hell outta me."

"He's such a kind man isn't he?" asked Mikey as he rolled his eyes at his older brother.

Kyra laughed, "Well I'm Kyra Knightly. Paul Sr. hired me to help design a new line of bikes for women."

"Is that so?" asked Mikey, sounding surprised, "That's pretty cool. Let me know if you need any help…I'm a little more in touch with my feminine side than that bitter young man over there."

Kyra stifled a laugh as Paul Jr. shot a glare at his little brother.

"Alright, alright I'm going," said Mikey, holding up his hands in mock surrender, "Don't shoot…sheesh."

"Your little brother's sweet," said Kyra after Mikey left.

"Yeah I guess," muttered Paul.

"Are you seriously gonna be like this all the time?" asked Kyra, already fed up with Paul's negative attitude.

"I'm just not in the mood to talk right now, okay?" asked Paul, trying his best to control his easily aroused temper.

"You okay?" asked Kyra, softening her voice when she saw the stress and worry in Paul's eyes, "You seem upset."

"Just stressed out," said Paul, "I've gotta get this design down by this afternoon so we can start fabricating or my dad's gonna blow a gasket and we're gonna be behind on the deadline."

"What bike are you designing?" pressed Kyra.

"We're making a specialty bike for Bass Pro Shops," answered Paul, "But I have no clue what to do…I mean how do you design a chopper for a company that sells things for people who go camping, hunting, and fishing? A chopper doesn't really fit into that picture."

"What if you don't make a chopper?" suggested Kyra, "What if you design an off-road bike?"

Paul stopped sketching and turned around to face Kyra, his gaze thoughtful as he mulled over what she said.

"Or you could do like a hybrid," she continued as she grabbed a sketch pad and started drawing, "Like…an off road bike but make it longer in the front, chopper-style. You could make it street legal while at the same time make it durable enough to go off-roading in. Use off-road tires and make the front and rear pieces out of plastic…maybe put them up higher like this…then you could design mud flaps but make them look more like something you'd find on a chopper…maybe something like this…"

Paul Jr. watched in fascination as Kyra sketched away. A few minutes later he was staring at an amazing drawing of a chopper/off-road bike hybrid. He shook his head in disbelief.

"How the hell did you come up with that?" he asked, in awe.

Kyra shrugged and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, looking somewhat sheepish and self-conscious.

"I dunno…it's just an idea. I get an idea and just sort of run with it and see where it goes I guess."

"This…this is amazing," breathed Paul as he studied the sketch. He looked up at Kyra and met her light-brown gaze. He looked away for a moment, unsettled by the striking color of her eyes and the fact that he was about to humble himself and ask for her help, "Do you…would you like to maybe help me fabricate this? I mean…whenever you're not busy designing the women's bikes that is…but only if you want to, I mean if you don't…"

"Sure," said Kyra with an amused smile, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," muttered Paul as he studied the drawing some more, "Can I borrow this? I want to scan it onto the computer and play around with some paint schemes."

"Sure," said Kyra, smiling both from the satisfaction that she'd come up with a brilliant design on her first day on the job and from the fact that she had just proven herself to one of the owners of Orange County Choppers.

She watched Paul Jr. scan the image and start playing around with different color schemes and design ideas. Despite the fact that he seemed a bit irritable and moody, in her opinion…he was definitely easy on the eyes…

**Please Review!**


	3. It's a Date

**Thank you soooo much to everyone who is reading and reviewing! I didn't think this story would generate this much interest since there aren't really any other American Chopper-themed stories out there. I'm glad everyone seems to like it so far : ) **

**Disclaimer: I own no one other than my OC Kyra Knightly **

It's a Date

"Paulie, what we got goin' here?" asked Paul Sr. as he strode into the shop from his office.

"We're working on putting together a mock-up for the Bass Pro bike," muttered Paul Jr. as he handed the head mechanic of the shop, Vinnie, the sketch that Kyra had drawn up.

"Let me see that," grumbled Senior as he looked over Vinnie's shoulder at the sketch.

"It looks kinda like a dirt bike," said Vinnie, giving Junior a surprised look.

"Yeah, it's sort of a hybrid," explained Paul Jr. as he held up a gas tank to the frame of the bike and studied it for a moment, "It's Kyra's idea."

"Kyra's idea?" asked Vinnie, looking confused, "Who's Kyra?"

"She's the new girl," answered Senior as he studied the sketch, "I hired her to design a new line of bikes for women…looks like she gave Paulie a couple of good ideas for this bike too."

"Yeah I was stuck on the design of it," said Paul as he turned to glance at the sketch Vinnie was holding, "I was thinking of doing a basic structure like the one on the Black Widow bike and then just revamp it with some camouflage paint, but Kyra suggested we make it more like an off-road bike. We'll give it that chopper-feel with the longer legs and the way the seat sits far back here but we're gonna give it off-road tires, a sturdier frame, and plastic pieces for the front and back of the bike to act as mud guards. We'll sit them up a bit higher too, like the way off-roaders look."

"And she came up with all this?" asked Senior, looking impressed.

"Yep," said Paul as Vinnie gave a long, low whistle and shook his head in disbelief.

"Good catch there, Senior," said Vinnie with a laugh, "This girl's got style!"

…

Later that afternoon, Kyra was beginning to feel drained. She'd sketched up several different designs and ideas for the new line of women's style bikes and was beginning to feel a lack of motivation and creativity. She ran her hand through her straight, brown hair and sighed. After a moment she decided to check out the shop and see what the progress was on the Bass Pro Shops bike she had helped design.

"Female!" shouted Vinnie the second he saw Kyra, "We got a female in the shop!"

Kyra smirked and rolled her eyes, "I'm Kyra Knightly," she said as she held out her hand to Vinnie.

Vinnie took off his gloves and shook Kyra's hand, "Ah so you're the mastermind behind this hybrid creation?"

Kyra laughed and glanced away sheepishly, "Yeah I guess so…it was just an idea and when I sketched it out, Paul Jr. seemed to like it so he edited it and added some OCC flair to it."

"Yeah but you're the one who had the idea to make it a hybrid to start with," said Paul Jr. as he walked over with a pair of off-road tires, "That's the only reason we're even fabricating right now is because of your idea."

Kyra felt herself melt a little under Paul's praise and charming smile, "Well I'm glad I could be of some help."

Paul smiled as he looked back at Kyra. She was definitely a looker…small-framed, yet curvy in a good way, gorgeous face, infectious smile and those eyes…those eyes stopped him dead in his tracks every time he looked into them.

Kyra shuffled uneasily under Paul's steady gaze. She glanced up at him and they made eye-contact. Paul seemed to freeze almost immediately.

"Paul! Stop making goo-goo eyes at the new employee and get back to work!" snapped Senior as he walked by them, "Ask her to go to dinner or something, but keep that romantic crap outta my shop! We don't have time for it."

Paul felt his face flush red with embarrassment as his dad stormed off into his office. Kyra smirked and glanced over at Vinnie, who at the moment seemed to be having a very difficult time maintaining his composure.

"Sorry 'bout that," said Paul, still looking somewhat embarrassed, "My dad's a bit of a hot-head…and he likes to speak before he thinks. But, um…you know if you _did_ want to go to dinner or something…I could show you around the town…take you to the best place to eat around here. I mean, only if you wanted to, because it's okay if you don't."

Kyra smiled and her heart fluttered a little when she realized that Paul Jr. was asking her out on a date, "Sure…I'd like that."

"Really?" asked Paul and Vinnie at the same time.

Paul shot Vinnie a glare and Vinnie just disappeared behind the frame of the bike, attempting to stifle his laughter.

"Yes, really," said Kyra with a kind smile, "What time?"

"Um…whenever Dad lets us off work? Like, maybe six?"

"That sounds great," said Kyra as she flashed another dazzling smile, "I better get back to the drawing board. I don't want to get you boys into any more trouble."

"Oh I don't think Paulie minds that much," said Vinnie with a laugh.

Paul raised a nearby wrench and threatened to toss it in Vinnie's direction. Kyra just laughed and shook her head as she left the shop and headed back to the office she shared with Paul. She looked up at the clock and saw that it was three-thirty. As she sat down behind her desk she prayed that the time would go by quickly…

…

"Alright, pack 'em up, let's go home," announced Paul Sr. as he walked into the fabrication area of the shop, "What'd you guys get done?"

"We established the base-line frame and I picked up some of those off-road tires we talked about," explained Paul Jr as he wiped the oil off his hands with a nearby rag, "Vinnie and I found a good gas tank that'll match the frame nicely and we ordered a few other parts. I called our buddies up at the paint shop and they said they have a good method for painting camouflage on stuff and they said they'd be able to get it done for us in about a week."

Senior nodded, "Good, you guys can go home. Paulie, you need a ride?"

"Um, no I'm gonna take Kyra to a place downtown," said Paul, not meeting his dad's gaze.

"Oh is that so?" asked Senior, his eyes glittering with amusement as he and Vinnie exchanged a look, "She actually agreed to go out with you, huh?"

"Yes," grumbled Paul as he gave his dad a warning look, "Please don't mess this up, okay?"

Senior held up his hands in mock surrender, "I'm not doin' a thing. You're moving pretty fast there though Paulie…you never ask a girl out when you've only known her for a few hours. It ain't like you to jump on something like this so fast."

"Yeah, well she's different, okay?" snapped Paul.

"Touchy," smirked Vinnie, "Someone's got a little crush."

"I'm gonna kill both of you," muttered Paul just as Kyra opened the door and walked into the room.

"Hey guys," she said as she walked over to them.

"I don't know what you see in him…but I'm glad you do," laughed Senior as he gave Kyra a high-five.

"Oh…that's great, Dad…thanks," muttered Paul as he glared at his dad.

Vinnie just smirked as he watched Kyra walk over to Paul.

"Aw don't mind them," said Kyra, kindly, "They only pick on you because they love you."

Paul rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. So, I'm sorry my shirt's a bit dirty…we did a lot in the shop today."

"Don't worry about it," said Kyra, reassuringly, "I don't care…you ready to go?"

Paul nodded as he placed a hand on the small of Kyra's back and led her past Paul Sr. and Vinnie.

"You two kids behave now," called out Vinnie.

"Yeah I ain't old enough to be a grandpa yet!" laughed Senior.

"Sometimes I question whether or not he really is my father," muttered Paul Jr. as he quickly led Kyra out of the shop and out to his large pick-up in the back of the parking lot.

"Actually, from what I can tell….you two are more alike than you think," said Kyra as she gave Paul a playful nudge.

Paul Jr. pretended to be disgusted, "Oh no, don't say that!"

Kyra laughed as Paul held the door open for her and she climbed up into the massive pick-up truck. Her heart thudded wildly as Paul climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been on a real date with a guy. It had been a very long time that was for sure. She smiled when she saw Paul's hands trembling a little as he drove out of the parking lot. He was just as nervous as she was...and she found that absolutely adorable…

…

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Blow Up

**Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing! I had some time to write today and this chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones but there was a lot that needed to be put out there to get the story really rolling. Thanks as always for reading my story! :D **

**Disclaimer: I own no one other than my OC Kyra Knightly **

Blow-Up

"So, I hope you like Greek food," said Paul Jr as he pulled into the parking lot of a quaint little restaurant with white columns along the front of the building.

"Like it? I love Greek food! I can't remember the last time I ate any," said Kyra, smiling broadly.

Paul felt his heart flutter a little at the smile that played across Kyra's beautiful features. He was normally calm and collected when it came to women, but Kyra was throwing him off his game. Then again he had never been serious about a girl before…not since high school anyways and even then he was never this off-put before.

After they were seated and ordered gyros and Greek salads, Paul glanced up and met Kyra's heart-stopping, light-brown gaze. He cleared his throat and tried to gather his scattered thoughts.

"Um, so…you said you used to work for Ford?" he asked, trying as hard as he could to not look up and meet her gaze.

"That's right," replied Kyra, smiling a little at Paul's nervousness, "I used to design different parts for some of their trucks and a couple car models. They were looking for more modern styles of bumpers, hubcaps, mirrors, grills, you name it they were re-modeling it."

"But then they laid you off?" asked Paul as the waiter walked over with their salads.

"Yeah," said Kyra, frowning a little at the memory, "I mean, it wasn't my boss' fault. The company wasn't doing well and they had to cut a few people, and seeing as I was just there to re-design a few parts it wasn't a big loss for them. They cancelled the re-modeling plans and let me go."

Paul sneered, "Yeah well if you ask me it was definitely a loss for them…a hell of a loss. Especially after what I've seen of your work so far."

Kyra blushed a little under his praise, "Oh, I'm not that great. I just get an idea, run with it and see where it goes. Sometimes my ideas fall flat and once in awhile one will stick, so I guess the hybrid bike idea just…stuck."

Paul smiled, "Hell yeah it did! We haven't had an original idea like that in ages."

Kyra just smiled in response as the waiter returned and brought their gyros. They ate and made small talk for the next couple hours…and for the first time in a very long time, Kyra was happy.

…

"Thank you so much, Paul," said Kyra as Paul Jr walked Kyra up the stairs to her apartment, "I had a wonderful night…I'd invite you in but my apartment is a wreck. I haven't had time to unpack everything just yet."

"It's no problem…it's getting late anyway and we gotta busy day tomorrow," said Paul as they reached the front door, "I had a wonderful night too…maybe we could do something like this again sometime?"

"I would love to," replied Kyra, her eyes sparkling with excitement at the thought.

Paul hesitated, suddenly unsure as to whether or not he should kiss her or turn around and leave. While he hesitated, Kyra leaned up and gave him a light peck on the lips.

"See you tomorrow, Paul," she said quietly as she opened the door and slipped inside.

Paul stood on her doorstep, stunned for a moment. After Kyra disappeared into her apartment, a goofy grin spread across Paul's face. As he turned to head back to his truck, he raised a fist into the air in victory and cheered silently.

…

"Hey Casanova!" called Mikey as Paul Jr strode into the shop an hour late the next morning, "Somebody have a long night?"

"Yeah, but his girlfriend came in fifteen minutes _early_ and he came an hour _late_," said Vinnie with a smirk on his face, "At least someone's committed to their job despite having a wild night."

"I'm gonna kill all of you," muttered Paul Jr as he glared at his little brother and best friend, "And for your information, no we didn't have a 'wild night.' We had a lovely dinner at a restaurant and I dropped her off at her place…I'm not the kinda guy to sleep with the girl on the first date."

"Aw, what a gentleman!" said Mikey as he and Vinnie worked on the Bass Pro bike.

"You guys leave Paulie alone," said Ricky, a mechanic and fabrication expert, as he walked over to the Bass Pro bike, "Let the poor boy have his date in peace."

"Thank you!" exclaimed Paul Jr with an exasperated sigh.

"I mean, after all, if he doesn't wanna kiss and tell that's his problem," added Ricky as Paul Jr through a scrap piece of metal at him. Ricky ducked, laughing as Paul Sr. walked in.

"Nice of you to join us, Romeo," grumbled Senior as he punched his son in the shoulder.

Paul flinched and shot his dad a glare, "Why can't you all just butt out?"

"Be gentle guys, he's the sensitive type," added Mikey.

Paul Jr was getting angry fast. His teeth clenched together as he shot his younger brother a threatening glare.

"Hey, Paul?" asked Kyra as she walked into the shop, "Could I get your opinion on this design I came up with?"

"Sure, I'll be right there," said Paul Jr as he shot a final warning glare at his dad, brother and the rest of the OCC crew.

Everyone in the shop just chucked and whispered amongst themselves as Paul Jr. disappeared into the design room with Kyra.

"The boys giving you a hard time?" asked Kyra, frowning slightly.

"Nothing I can't handle," replied Paul as he studied Kyra's expression, "Why?"

"I just don't want to cause you any problems," muttered Kyra as she sat down behind her desk and played around on her computer.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Paul, dumbfounded, "No way…I'll handle the guys in the shop, you're fine. And besides, from what I can tell, you're worth the 'trouble'."

Kyra smiled at that as she looked up at Paul, "Thanks…I'm glad you think so."

Paul smirked a little as he knelt down next to her, "And about that other date I mentioned last night…is tonight too early for a second date?"

Kyra beamed, "Of course not."

"Good…so whenever Senior lets us outta here?"

"Works for me," said Kyra, feeling her heart melt a little under Paul's steady, dark brown eyes.

"Awesome, now show me this design of yours."

"Oh, well I heard that there were some women who wanted pink and purple bikes," explained Kyra as she opened a file on her computer, "But it's hard to design a girly bike and still give it that edgy, OCC flair. So I made a predominantly light purple bike with light pink detailing. I figured the softer colors made it girly, yet at the same time it's not glaring, neon, in-your-face colors. I also used some pink and purple tinged flames here on the rear fender so it's got that edge to it. The longer handle bars curved like this I was thinking would make it more edgy and chopper-like too. I just wanted to get your opinion on it."

"I love it," replied Paul as he studied the 3-D version of Kyra's sketch that she had uploaded onto the computer, "I'm assuming this is the bike for the more girly-girls?"

"Yeah, this one is the girliest it's gonna get I think," said Kyra as she switched the screen over to another 3-D model, "This one here is another one I came up with that's girly but it doesn't scream it. It has several different shades of blue that blend together in the middle here and with a few, light, blended-in blue flames here near the muffler. It's more like an original OCC chopper but it has softer colors and it'll be lighter in weight so a girl would be able to handle it a little easier."

"Excellent!" commended Paul as he put an arm around Kyra's shoulders, "I like where you're going with this. When do you start fabricating?"

"Senior said in another week or two. He wants to get all the designs finished and approved first. I also have a design I think you'll like a lot but I'm not done with it yet. I'll let you know when I'm finished. I'll have to get your permission to use it though since I took a lot of ideas from one of the bikes you're rather famous for."

Paul raised an eyebrow in surprise at that, "You're copying my designs now? Oh, I see what's goin' on here…you're dating me in order to butter me up so you can steal my designs. Clever."

Kyra laughed, "Dang it, you caught me! Ugh!"

Paul laughed with her and shook his head, "You sneaky little thing!" he said as he leaned over and gave her a peck on the lips.

Kyra laughed a little as she leaned up and kissed Paul back, "You have no idea," she said, raising an eyebrow suggestively just as Senior walked in.

"You two gonna play kissy-face all day or is Paulie gonna get to work?" he demanded, unable to hide the smirk on his face.

Paul Jr rolled his eyes, "I'm coming," he grumbled as he gave Kyra a wink before disappearing back into the shop.

Kyra watched him leave, a smile still plastered on her face as she turned back to her computer and played with the color scheme of another chopper for the women's line of OCC bikes…

…

"I swear you're just doing this because you always have to be in control!" shouted Paul Jr as he slammed the hammer down on the bench in the shop.

"Oh yeah, that's it!" roared Senior, "Or maybe it's because I'm your father, I've been around longer, so I know better! Use the other damn muffler!"

"No! Ricky and I fabricated this muffler from scratch just for this bike and we're gonna use it! It matches the hybrid bike theme so it's going on the bike!"

"The hell it is!" argued Senior, "I own this damn place so what I say goes! Use the muffler I picked out!"

"God, Dad why do you always have to do this? Why can't you just let me make a few decisions on my own?"

"Because they aren't the right ones!" growled Senior as he slammed another tool on the ground.

"No it's because you're obsessed with being in control! You always were and you always will be! What the hell do you think I did when Mikey and I were kids and you were too drunk to do anything?"

"Don't bring that up!" screamed Senior, "Don't you _dare_ bring that shit up!"

"Why not Dad?" shouted Junior, "It's the truth! I made all the decisions back then and I can make them now too!"

"Why do you have to bring this up? This has nothing to do with the muffler!" shouted Senior, pain evident in his eyes and trembling voice.

"It has everything to do with it!" shouted Junior as he turned to face his father, "You were so screwed up back then that you couldn't make any decisions about what happened to me, Mikey, or even Dan and Cristen! I made all the decisions Dad! All of them! I helped Mom raise _your_ kids! If I am capable of doing that then I think I'm capable of making decisions on my own bikes!"

"Just shut the hell up!" roared Senior, his face turning red with rage.

Ricky and Vinnie shot each other worried looks as they watched the spectacle in front of them. It had been a long time since Junior and Senior fought like this and they didn't miss a single second of it.

"No, I won't!" screamed Junior, his eyes getting moist with a combination of rage and emotion, "I'm sick of you taking over everything in my life! I'm done! We're using the muffler Ricky and I made and that's it!"

"Go to hell!" shouted Senior as he stormed out of the shop and headed to his office, slamming the door shut behind him.

Junior sighed as he ran a hand through his tussled brown hair. He looked over at Ricky and Vinnie and just shook his head sadly.

"Sorry guys," he muttered, "Let's just get back to work, okay?"

Ricky and Vinnie exchanged nervous, uncertain glances as they walked back over to the bike and began to mount the muffler Paul Jr wanted to use…

…

**PLEASE REVIEW! **

**Also, for those of you who are Deadliest Catch fans, I'm thinking of at some point in this story, putting the crew of the Northwestern into the picture and get the OCC crew to build them a custom bike. It's just a random idea that popped into my head and I'm not sure if it'll fit in or not but I'll see what I can do : )**


	5. The Bass Pro Bike

**Thank you soooo much to everyone who is reading and reviewing this story! I'm having a blast writing it! I'm gonna write whenever I can and post as much as I can before I head back to college (then it won't be so often that I'll be able to update : ( so I wanna get as much done now as I can!) **

**Disclaimer: I own no one besides my OC Kyra Knightly**

The Bass Pro Shops Bike

Kyra flinched as she listened to the fight out in the shop. She had never heard two people go at it as hard as Senior and Junior were doing right then. A few seconds later she heard the door to the shop open and slam shut as Senior stormed out of the room and kicked open the door to his own office. Kyra's eyes were wide with shock and fear as she listened to him roar and curse with rage. A couple moments later he slammed the door to his office shut and his curses became less audible.

Kyra sat in her chair for a few minutes, making sure things had settled down before she got up and walked quietly into the shop. She stood at the entrance for a moment and studied the OCC crew, trying to gauge what kind of mood everyone was in. Vinnie and Rick looked nervous as they silently worked on the Bass Pro Shops bike. Paul Jr looked distracted and frustrated as he rummaged through a drawer of tools.

After a moment, Kyra cleared her throat to get their attention, "Um…is everyone okay?" she asked, hesitantly.

Paul Jr looked up and instantly felt a wave of guilt when he saw the look on Kyra's face. She looked uncertain and scared and he knew that it was his fault. He cursed himself as he walked over to her.

"Yeah, everyone's fine," he said quietly, "My dad and I just got into a fight."

"Yeah, I heard," muttered Kyra, "That sounded awful…"

Paul flinched a little and shrugged, "It happens."

"Yo, Paulie," said Vinnie, "Why don't you go for a drive or something? You're gonna be all worked up and stressed out and of no use to us till you get your mind back in the game."

"I'm fine," Paul called over his shoulder.

"No, I think it's a good idea," said Kyra, "You're clearly upset…a drive might do you some good. I'll see what I can do with the bike while you're gone."

Paul gave Kyra a grateful smile and hugged her, "Thank you," he whispered as he gave her a peck on the lips.

"Anytime," replied Kyra, giving Paul a reassuring smile before he turned and left the shop.

"Does that happen often?" asked Kyra after Paul had left.

"It hasn't happened in a really long time," muttered Rick, "And I can tell you this much, we don't miss it."

"No we don't," agreed Vinnie, "That crap messes everyone in the shop up. Look over there…the other guys are all on edge. I bet you they won't get any of the production bikes done today like we scheduled. They'll be too nervous and distracted to work like normal."

Kyra frowned when she glanced over at the side of the shop where the regular, production bikes were built. Sure enough, all the guys on that side of the shop looked rattled and nervous as they moved about, working on the bikes.

"What was it they were fighting about?" pressed Kyra as she walked around the Bass Pro Shops bike, studying the progress the crew had made thus far.

Rick and Vinnie exchange a glance before they answered her question.

"When Paul and Mikey were kids," began Vinnie, "Senior was addicted to a lot of things…drugs, alcohol, tobacco, you name it he did it. It messed up their family pretty bad and eventually he and his wife got divorced. Paulie took care of the rest of the family. Dan is his older brother and he works at a different company in California so he was always busy with his business and didn't really have anything to do with the family once he moved out, so that basically left everything on Paulie's shoulders."

"Yeah, he took care of Mikey and Cristen, their little sister," added Rick, "And it wasn't easy either from what I hear. His mom took it pretty hard after she and Senior divorced so Paulie had to hold the whole family together. He was doing taxes and making money when he was only fourteen years old. He had to grow up awful fast. I think he resents Senior for that…I mean in a sense he forgave him enough to join OCC and help with the business but deep down he still holds a lot of bitterness toward his dad for what happened. He brought that back up when they were fighting and things got personal really fast."

"That's awful," said Kyra, frowning, "Have they ever talked it out?"

Vinnie sneered, "Talk? No, they yell and argue. They never talk about their past issues in a civil manner. There's too much tension and anger built up for that."

"Men," grumbled Kyra, "It's all ego…my guess is they're both too proud to admit that both of them are wrong. Senior was wrong for what he did but Junior is wrong for holding all that anger and bitterness against him. But I guess they'll never admit that."

"No, I can tell you right now they won't," said Rick, "Trust me…we've been trying to help those two for years. It's a lost cause."

Just then, Mikey walked into the shop with a couple of guys Kyra had never seen before. They were all carrying different parts of the bike, now painted in camouflage pattern.

"Here we are my lady," announced Mikey as he and the other two guys sat the pieces down on one of the counters, "The bike's ready to be put together! Oh, and these are the guys who did the paint job."

"Thank you so much," said Kyra as she shook their hands, "The paint looks wonderful! Alright, guys let's get to work! Let's get this baby finished before Paul gets back…maybe it'll put him and Senior in better moods if we finish this bike ahead of schedule."

"That'll put Senior on cloud nine!" laughed Vinnie as they scrambled to put the last pieces onto the Bass Pro Shops bike…

…

Senior walked into the shop, his face set in a grimace as he walked over to where the OCC crew was polishing the Bass Pro Shops bike.

"Hey, boss," said Kyra, cheerfully, "She's finished!"

"Good," grumbled Senior, "Where's Junior?"

"He went out for a drive," answered Vinnie, "To blow off a bit of steam…we thought it'd be best."

Senior just rolled his eyes at that as he studied the new, hybrid bike.

"She looks good," he said appraisingly, "Excellent, get her off the lift and cover her up. We're gonna reveal her tomorrow at the new Bass Pro Shop down the street."

Just then, Paul Jr walked back into the shop. He took off his sunglasses and set them up on the brim of his red OCC baseball hat as he approached the crew.

Everyone instantly grew tense when Senior and Junior were within range of one another. Kyra held her breath as Senior turned around to look at his son. Paul Jr just glanced at his dad and then looked back at the bike. His eyes glittered with excitement as he took in the paint job and the detailing that the crew had done while he was gone.

"This is amazing," he breathed, glancing over at Kyra and giving her an approving look, "Excellent work, guys."

"Yeah, no thanks to you," growled Senior.

The crew flinched and prepared for another onslaught.

"Whatever, Dad I don't feel like fight with you right now," grumbled Paul Jr as he walked past his dad and made his way out of the shop, down the hall and into the office he shared with Kyra.

Senior just cursed under his breath as he retreated back to his own office. The rest of the OCC crew just sighed with relief as the two feuding Teutuls left the shop.

Mikey raised an eyebrow, "What happened while I was gone?"

"You don't wanna know," muttered Kyra, "It was bad…really bad."

Vinnie and Rick nodded in agreement as they wiped down the bike one last time before putting a cover on it and setting it on the far side of the shop.

"On a scale of one to ten?" asked Mikey as they stored the bike.

"Based on the fights I've seen," answered Vinnie, "I'd give it an eight. No one hit anyone else so that was good."

"They've hit each other before?" exclaimed Kyra, eyes wide with shock.

"No but they've come close," answered Rick, "And it wouldn't surprise me if they did one day."

Mikey just shook his head sadly, "I wish they'd just knock it off…its getting old, really old."

Kyra frowned when she saw the sad look on Mikey's face. She wished there was a way to get Senior and Junior to sit down civilly and talk about their issues…

…

The next morning the OCC crew gathered in the shop to load the bike onto the truck and take it down to the new Bass Pro store for the grand opening ceremony.

The tension between Senior and Junior was still palpable as they loaded the bike and got into their vehicles to head out. Kyra and Mikey rode with Junior while Senior took Ricky and Vinnie in his truck.

As they pulled up to the new Bass Pro store, Kyra was astonished at the number of people there wearing OCC t-shirts and cheering as they rounded the corner.

"Wow," she breathed as they parked and walked up to the main entrance.

"Hey, Kyra!" boomed Senior, "Get back here! You're gonna ride the bike in to show the owners!"

Kyra's eyes widened with surprise at that, "What? Me? Don't you or Paul usually do that?"

"Yeah but you're the one who designed the bike, so you're gonna do it," answered Senior, "Vinnie will help you get it set up and tell you what to do. We'll see you inside."

…

Kyra felt a rush of exhilaration when the engine roared to life. She could literally feel the power of the hybrid chopper as she pulled it into the main lobby of the new Bass Pro store. The crowd erupted in applause as the bike pulled up next to the owners of the new store.

Paul Jr smiled as he watched Kyra get off the bike. There was just something about a woman riding a chopper that made her that much more attractive. Kyra turned and gave him a radiant smile. Her eyes were alight with excitement and pride as the owners praised the unique bike. Kyra shook hands with the owners and then went over to where Paul Jr was standing with Mikey.

"Great job, Kyra," whispered Paul as he gave her a hug, "You deserve this."

Kyra smiled, "I couldn't have done it without your help."

"Oh, please," laughed Paul Jr, "If it weren't for you I'd have just made a regular chopper with camouflage paint."

Kyra just shrugged humbly as Paul wrapped an arm around her and held her close to him throughout the ceremony. Mikey smiled in amusement when he saw the look in his older brother's eyes. He seriously was crazy about this girl that was for sure.

"Alright, wrap it up boys!" bellowed Senior when the ceremony was over, "We got another project back at the shop…some guys from a TV show on the Discovery Channel want us to make a bike for them and we gotta meet 'em in an hour, so let's move!"

The OCC crew scrambled to clean up and pack everything away. Kyra gave Paul Jr an excited glance as they climbed back up into his pick-up truck.

"Another special project?" she asked, eyes sparkling, "God I love my job!"

Paul and Mikey laughed at Kyra's enthusiasm as they drove down the road and back to OCC headquarters…

…

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Mirror Image

**Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing! And those who aren't reviewing please do! I LOVE the feedback! : ) **

**Author's Note: For those who are familiar with my Deadliest Catch stories, one of my more notorious OC characters is Jack Harper who throughout my Deadliest Catch stories is either dating, engaged, or married to Edgar Hansen and I decided to throw her into this story as well since she and my new OC Kyra have so much in common (as you'll see in the next couple chapters). If you aren't familiar with her or my other stories no worries! It won't be hard to follow at all : )**

**Disclaimer: No I still own no once besides my OCs Kyra and Jack. Sad as it is…**

Mirror Image

"I need Junior, Mikey, Ricky, Vinnie and Kyra in the main office now!" boomed Paul Sr. over the intercom system.

Kyra looked up from where she was sketching out her secret project for the women's bike line. She quickly closed the sketch pad and put it on the bottom of one of her drawers and locked it before she left the room.

"They're here!" said Vinnie excitedly as he practically ran to the office.

"Who's here?" asked Junior, looking confused as he put an arm around Kyra's shoulders.

"The guys we're making the new theme bike for," answered Kyra, "Senior said they were from the Discovery Channel…and Vinnie is apparently addicted to that channel."

Vinnie just smiled as they walked into the office.

"Finally," muttered Senior as the OCC crew filed into the room, "Guys this is the crew of the fishing vessel Northwestern from the hit Discovery Channel show, Deadliest Catch and Northwestern crew this is my five man, well four man and one woman, crew and I'm the captain of this ship!"

Junior rolled his eyes at that and muttered something inaudible under his breath. One of the guys from Deadliest Catch smirked when he saw Junior's reaction and held out his hand to introduce himself.

"I'm Edgar Hansen," said the man as he shook Junior's hand, "And from what I've seen of your show, you and I are in the same boat…we're both involved in a family business but we get second place to an older member of the family whom we fight with on a regular basis, am I right?"

Junior's eyes widened in astonishment, "Dude you're my new best friend," he said as he gave Edgar a hug.

Kyra watched as a young woman about her own age walked over and held out her hand, "And I'm Jack…Edgar's fiancé. I have a feeling we have a lot in common too…we both work with a bunch of guys and are greatly outnumbered by them and it seems we're both involved with the 'second place' guys in the family business."

Now it was Kyra's turn to be astonished by the similarity between the Northwestern crew and the crew of OCC, "Wow…um yeah, this is kind of scary!"

Sig sneered, "Yeah well I think Senior and I have a lot in common too," he said as he put a hand on Senior's shoulder, "We both run a crew of both family and close friends and we keep them on a tight leash."

"Yeah because if we didn't then the businesses would go to hell," agreed Senior as he nodded approvingly in Sig's direction.

Edgar and Paul Jr. both rolled their eyes in exasperation.

"See what I have to deal with?" muttered Edgar.

"Dude, I totally understand," agreed Paul Jr.

"And Mikey and I are the least appreciated!" piped up a young man from the back of the Northwestern crew, "I'm Jake Anderson, the greenhorn on the boat."

Mikey stepped forward and shook his hand, "Hello young man…yes we are underappreciated! And it ain't right!"

"Okay, enough!" snapped Senior, "We get it, our crews are mirror images of each other, whatever let's get to work okay? We have a lot to discuss. These guys want us to build them a theme bike for their boat specifically so we need to discuss design ideas and get some color samples to work out the paint jobs. Kyra, Paulie I want you two to head this thing up, but Kyra keep up with your job I got you on now alright? If you get behind on your designs then take time off to get your work done too."

"Sir yes sir," said Kyra as she mock-saluted Senior.

"Good, and the Northwestern crew will be here for the first couple days of fabrication and design so they can give us ideas and help out in the shop in any way they can so be good to them and treat them like the guests they are, got it?"

The OCC crew nodded and grumbled their agreements as they led the crew of the Northwestern out of Senior's office.

…

"Okay," said Junior once they left, "Over here is the design room…it's where Kyra and I do all of the mental and creative parts of the job. Maybe you guys could give us some basic ideas as to what you're looking for or what you'd like to see implemented on the bike?"

"Well we definitely want the Northwestern colors used," said Sig as he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Junior, "Here's some paint swatches. Those are the exact colors of our boat."

Kyra sat down at her desk and pulled out a notebook and began to jot down everything Sig was telling them.

"This is perfect," said Junior as he took the sample paint from Sig, "This'll help our guy down the street who does the paint schemes for the bikes a ton. He's gonna love this."

"What kind of basic frame are we talking about?" asked Kyra as she pulled out a sketch pad, "Are we talking long and elegant, thin framed or more bulky, sturdy frame?"

"I'd say more along the elegant side, right?" asked Edgar.

Sig nodded in agreement, "Yeah something more sleek looking and we definitely want the classic chopper-style look to the bike. The long legs up front and the low seat, all the classic features of a chopper but at the same time in a more modern, sleek design."

"That's right up Junior's alley," said Kyra as she gave Paul Jr a wink, "He loves the more modern styled choppers."

"Oh, and we brought a few things to help you guys out," said Edgar as he pulled out a few items from a bag he was carrying, "Here's some samples of the rope we use and some crab net and a few links of piping from the pots."

"Perfect," said Junior as he took the items from Edgar, "We'll see what we can do to implement them into the bike. Kyra and I are gonna get started on a sketch and 3-D model of what we're thinking and then present it to you guys in a little bit."

"Excellent, I'm gonna take the crew out to lunch so we'll be back in a couple hours," said Sig as he led the Northwestern crew out of the room.

Kyra sighed as Junior closed the door behind them, "We gotta lot of work to do."

"Yes mam we do," said Paul Jr with a smirk on his face as he leaned down to kiss her, "Let's see what we can do…"

…

About two hours later, the Northwestern crew returned to the shop and went back inside Paul and Kyra's office.

"Perfect timing," said Kyra as the crew entered the room, "Pull up a chair and we'll show you what we've come up with."

Kyra pulled up a program on her computer and clicked on a file. A 3-D image of a sleek-looking, blue and white chopper with red pinstriped detailing appeared on the screen.

"Our guy down the street, Nubs, will do the paint job and he's very creative so what he's gonna do is take a look at what I have here and put his own little spin on it. He's an expert at detailing too so there will be a few more details in the paint scheme itself," said Kyra as she pointed out different features on the bike, "Also, we're gonna make an air cover cleaner with the Northwestern logo that Sig created and we'll put the actual name 'Northwestern' here on the outside of the legs. We're gonna mimic the font that you guys use on the boat itself to make it really stand out and be authentic. The seat itself is gonna be brown leather that matches the color of the pipes you gave us and we're gonna stretch some of that rope over it to give it a really cool effect here. It'll look like a crab pot once we're done with it. The overall design of the bike itself will be very sleek, very modern like you asked. If we have any changes to the design, like any major changes, we'll call you guys and let you know. Any questions?"

"No, wow this is perfect!" said Sig as he gazed at the 3-D image.

"How the hell do you do that?" asked Jack as she gave Kyra and Junior admiring glances, "This is amazing!"

Kyra shrugged and looked up at Junior, "We work well together I guess."

"Yeah something like that," replied Paul Jr as he gave Kyra a little wink.

"So now, if you guys are happy with the design, we'll show you around the shop and even get you to help us with the basic frame and a few designs for the bike," said Kyra.

"Lead the way!" said Edgar as he opened the door and held it for her.

…

Later that evening the Northwestern crew shook hands with Paul Sr. and the rest of the OCC crew before they retired to their hotel for the night.

"Thank you for doing this for us," said Sig as he got ready to leave.

"And for letting us play around in the shop!" added Edgar, with a mischievous grin on his face, "We seriously need to get some of those torches on our boat…those things are awesome!"

Paul Jr laughed with Edgar as they gave each other knowing looks. Jack and Kyra rolled their eyes at them.

"It's a wonder the shop is still standing," said Jack with a smirk on her face, "Edgar's a pyro-maniac."

"Yeah that sounds familiar," laughed Kyra as she shot a look in Junior's direction.

"You guys have a good night!" called Senior as the Northwestern crew left, "We'll see you all tomorrow!"

…

It was getting late but the crew of OCC was still hard at work. Although having the Northwestern crew around that day was a lot of fun and a good break from the monotony, they were now behind schedule on the production bikes. Senior made everyone stay for a few more hours to finish their work, regardless of the fact that everyone was exhausted.

Kyra sighed as she took another gulp of coffee from the mug on her desk. She winced a little when she realized that it was now luke-warm. She rubbed her tired eyes and tried to force herself to focus on the bikes she was designing for the new women's line. Just then, Paul Jr. strode into the room.

"Hey you," he said as he wrapped his arms around Kyra. The past few days had been a whirlwind for the two young lovebirds. They'd gone out almost every night since Kyra had arrived at the shop, but tonight they were both stuck at work. Paul didn't mind being stuck at work so much anymore…now that it meant he was able to be with Kyra for a couple more hours he actually relished working longer.

"Hey, I wanted to show you something," said Kyra as she turned around to face Junior.

"Oh yeah?" asked Paul as he pulled up a chair, "What is it?"

"Well, you know that bike you designed? The one you're famous for?"

"The Black Widow?"

"Yeah…well so many people love the bike that I thought, what would it look like if I retrofitted and revamped it for the women's line? So…here's what I came up with."

Kyra pulled up the file for the Women's Black Widow bike. The bike, instead of being red and black, was magenta and black. The different shades of darker pink blended together on several parts of the bike, giving it a cool, sleek effect. Instead of the webbing being silver like it was on Paul's original bike, it was black. Paul raised an eyebrow as he studied the design.

"Wow…I like it," he said as he looked at the rear fender, "I like how you changed the webbing to black…it makes it stand out a lot with the pink color of the frame."

"So you do like it?" said Kyra, looking nervous.

"Yeah, I think it's awesome!" said Paul as he gazed at Kyra in amazement, "I think you should go for it."

"Really? I mean it's your design, just modified so I wanted to get your permission before I use it."

"You have it," said Paul as he gave her a peck on the lips, "Go for it…I'm looking forward to seeing what it's gonna look like when you fabricate it. When do you start fabricating by the way?"

"Right after the Northwestern bike is done," replied Kyra, looking excited, "I can't wait!"

Paul smiled when he saw the enthusiasm on Kyra's face, "Yeah…me neither…"

…

"What the hell are you doing?" grumbled Senior as he yanked the exhaust pipe out of Junior's hands.

"Dad, what the hell?" exclaimed Paul Jr, looking rather irritated, "I'm trying to bend that thing to fit the bike!"

"No, I don't like this one," said Senior, his face set in a scowl, "Use the other one…the one we normally use for this production bike."

"Dad this is _my_ line of bikes!" argued Junior, "I want to change the exhaust design on this one because it looks better."

"No it doesn't."

"Well I really don't care what you think, this is my bike and my exhaust," argued Junior as he reached over and tried to yank the exhaust away from his dad. Paul Sr. jerked the exhaust out of Junior's reach.

"I said, no!" he roared, his anger beginning to spill over.

"And I said it's my bike so give me my damn exhaust back!"

"This is my shop, my materials! You just design the bikes, I have the final say!" boomed Senior.

"Then let me design the damn bike, Dad!"

"Not when your design is shit!"

"Go screw yourself, I'm so sick of this shit!" shouted Junior, his rage boiling over, "Controlling my life again, that's all this is about! I'm not a kid anymore, Dad! I haven't been for a very long time, remember?"

"Shut the hell up!"

"No! Don't tell me what to do! You weren't around when I was a kid so you didn't tell me what to do then and you're sure as hell not gonna tell me what to do now! Give me the damn exhaust!"

Ricky and Vinnie retreated to the other side of the shop when they saw that the squabble between Senior and Junior was getting more serious. Kyra walked out of her office, looking around to see where the noise was coming from. She saw Senior and Junior arguing in the back of the shop and Vinnie and Ricky hiding on the other side of the room. She walked over to join them. They all exchanged nervous looks as they watched the scene unfold in front of them.

Junior lunged for the exhaust, but Senior pulled it out of his reach again.

"I swear to God Dad!" roared Junior, "I'm so over this shit! Give me the exhaust!"

"You aren't using it!" boomed Senior, "That's that! I said you aren't putting this on that bike, so get over it! Get the hell outta my face and shut the hell up!"

Junior lunged for the exhaust again. This time, Senior's rage was way beyond boiling point. Without even thinking, he brought the exhaust down on top of Paul Junior's head as he tried to snatch it. Junior's body instantly went limp and he collapsed onto the floor.

"Paul!" screamed Kyra, shock and disbelief overwhelming her.

"Aw, shit!" shouted Ricky as he and Vinnie ran over and pushed Paul Sr. away from where Junior was lying on the floor.

Senior was looking down at his son. His eyes were wide with shock as he glanced from the exhaust back down to Paul Jr. He couldn't believe what he had just done. He dropped the exhaust on the ground and took off in the direction of his office, leaving the startled OCC crew to take care of Junior on their own.

Kyra held Paul Junior's head in her hands, her eyes filling with tears.

"He'll be okay," assured Vinnie after he checked Paul's vital signs and looked at his head, "He just got knocked out by the blow. Come on honey, we'll carry him to the design office and make sure he's comfortable till he wakes up."

Kyra just nodded numbly and watched as Ricky and Vinnie lifted Paul off the shop floor and carried him to the design office. She couldn't believe what had just happened. The fighting between father and son had just escalated to a whole new level. This was getting way too serious way too fast. She followed Ricky and Vinnie to the design office, praying that Paul wasn't seriously injured and that everything would be okay…

**PLEASE REVIEW! **


	7. Make Every Second Count

**Got the writing-bug today so I couldn't help but write this chapter! After a bit of advice from a reviewer (thecatchisdeadliest) I couldn't help but agree that Paulie and Kyra needed a bit of alone time to talk about their relationship and be a little romantic : ) So enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: No…I own no one besides Kyra and Jack…wish I owned Edgar and Paul Jr. though hehehe…**

Make Every Second Count

Kyra, with the help of Vinnie and Ricky, had gathered a couple sweatshirts and turned them into a makes-shift pillow for Paul Jr. They set him down on the ground in a comfortable position on his back and gently laid his head down on the bundle of sweatshirts.

Ricky noticed the worried look on Kyra's face, "Hey, Kyra he's gonna be alright. It's okay."

"No it's not okay," snapped Vinnie, "I'm sick of this shit."

"Yeah, me too," muttered Kyra, "And I've only been here for a couple weeks."

"Try five years," muttered Vinnie, "I'm not gonna be able to deal with this for much longer."

"Don't say that, man," said Ricky, looking suddenly very worried, "We'll work through this…we always do."

"Yeah, well I'm tired of working through it," grumbled Vinnie, "This should have stopped a long time ago. It's reached the point of insanity…no one should have to work in these conditions."

Kyra sighed as she listened to Rick and Vinnie, "Well, I think Paul and I are gonna take the day off tomorrow. It's already midnight and by the time he's up and ready to get outta here it's gonna be even later than that. He needs to rest his head and he needs someone to keep an eye on him to make sure things don't get any worse."

"Senior's gonna kill you guys if you don't show up tomorrow," said Ricky with a frown of disapproval.

Kyra's eyes darkened at that, "Right now…I really don't give a damn about what Senior thinks."

…

It was two in the morning by the time Paul Jr. was coherent enough to be able to walk. Vinnie and Ricky had left the shop an hour ago after Kyra assured them that she could handle things from here on out. She through Paul's arm over her shoulder to give him a little extra support while she guided him into the parking lot and helped him climb up into the passenger seat of her little Honda Civic.

"What…what's going on," mumbled Paul, his words slurring a bit.

"It's okay, just relax," assured Kyra as she buckled her seat belt and put the car into drive, "I'll take care of you…it's okay."

…

Paul Jr. woke up with a pounding headache late the next morning. He groaned as the sun hit his face through the blinds of a nearby window, causing his head to pulse with pain. He could barely remember anything that had happened last night. The last thing he remembered clearly was arguing with his father, then hearing Kyra cry out in panic. He opened his eyes and looked around him. He was in a very spacious, white room with champagne colored accents and matching drapes and he was lying on a queen sized, plush bed with several pillows and down-filled blankets. He felt a slight pressure on his chest and glanced down. His eyes grew wide with surprise when he saw that it was Kyra, her head nestled into his chest, fast asleep.

"What the hell?" he whispered to himself, "What happened last night?"

Kyra stirred a little at the sound of Paul's voice and looked up at him. She sat up in surprise when she saw that he was wide awake.

"Hey!" she said as she looked at him, "How are you feeling?"

"Horrible," said Paul, still looking confused, "So what exactly happened last night?" he asked as he glanced between her and the bed.

Kyra smirked in amusement at his question, "Well…you and your dad got into a really bad fight, and things sort of took a…violent turn."

Paul raised his eyebrows in surprise at that, "Violent? What the hell? Did we like, beat each other up or something?"

"Um, more like he hit you over the head with the exhaust pipe you were arguing over," replied Kyra, wincing a little at the memory.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" exclaimed Paul as he tried to sit up. He lay back down quickly though as the throbbing pain in his head increased.

"Calm down," said Kyra, soothingly, "I'm going to go get you some ice for your head and some Tylenol for the pain. We have the day off today so just kick back and relax."

"The day off?" asked Paul, gently touching the side of his head that was the most tender.

"Yeah…I sort of told Vinnie and Ricky last night that we wouldn't be coming in. Ricky didn't seem too happy about it. He said Senior would be ticked, but I told him that at this point in time, I really don't care what Senior has to say."

Paul couldn't help but smile at that, "Look at you…you're turning into me!"

Kyra just rolled her eyes at that as she went downstairs to get some ice for Paul's head. She had a feeling he would be a more difficult patient than most.

…

"Ow!"

"I told you to lie still!" argued Kyra as she adjusted Paul's pillows that afternoon, "Stop being so stubborn."

Paul just stuck his tongue out at her and laughed when she punched him lightly on the shoulder. He leaned up and reached out, grabbing the side of her face and pulling her toward him. He gave her a long, deep kiss and ran his hand through her thick brown hair.

"Wanna play hospital?" asked Paul, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "You be the nurse…and I'll be the naughty patient who doesn't follow orders."

Kyra let out a squeal when Paul rolled over and trapped her underneath of him, "You're insane, you know that? You got knocked out by a freakin' exhaust pipe a few hours ago and all you wanna do…"

Her complaint was cut off when Paul leaned down and kissed her long and hard. Kyra moaned a little as she felt Paul's hands begin to explore her body. As his hands found their way up under her shirt, Kyra pulled back suddenly.

"What's wrong?" asked Paul, breathlessly.

"Oh, Paul, um…okay at the risk of sounding totally lame, um I sorta believe in saving sex for marriage…so I just don't want to go too far, if you know what I mean," stammered Kyra, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

Paul's eyes glowed with admiration as he looked down at Kyra, "Really? No, that's not lame…that's actually pretty freakin' cool. I mean, I wouldn't have minded much if you had said otherwise of course but, I don't know…I think I just developed a whole new level of respect for you."

Kyra smiled as she wrapped her arms around Paul's neck and kissed him, "Thanks."

"No…thank _you_," said Paul, meeting her heart-stopping gaze, "I don't know why you like me, but I'm sure as hell glad that you do. Speaking of which…we haven't really, you know…made this official."

Kyra raised an eyebrow, "Go on."

"Well…Kyra Knightly, although we've only been seeing each other for a couple weeks, and most of that time we've been working, I can't get enough of you. And, well…I was wondering, if you would like to be my girlfriend?"

Kyra's eyes sparkled with excitement, "Paul Jr. I would love to be your girlfriend!"

"Really?" asked Paul, sounding skeptical, "Well I guess its official then," he said as he leaned down to kiss her again.

Just then the doorbell rang. Kyra frowned slightly, "Figures we'd be interrupted at a time like this."

"Seriously…can we just get five minutes alone to be romantic?" muttered Paul irritably as Kyra stood up to get the door.

"Hey," said a somber-looking Jack Harper as Kyra opened the front door to her apartment.

"Oh, hey," said Kyra, looking very surprised as she glanced between Jack and Edgar, "What are you guys doing here?"

"They told us what happened," said Edgar, "Vinnie and Ricky I think are their names…they told us about what went down last night."

"We wanted to check on you and Paul Jr. and make sure you guys were okay," added Jack.

"Oh, yeah well come on in," said Kyra as she stood aside to let them in, "Paul is upstairs in the bedroom. I'm trying to convince him to stay lying down on the bed for the day to rest his head, but he's so freaking stubborn."

"Hmm, now why does that sound familiar?" asked Jack as she glanced up at Edgar who smiled sheepishly in response, "Edgar did the same thing after he got knocked hard on the head with the picking hook. Just kept right on working even though everyone else told him to go inside and lie down."

"Men," said Kyra as she shook her head and rolled her eyes in exasperation, "I swear it's an ego thing. Well come on up and you guys can say hi to Paul before he jumps out of bed to see what's going on down here."

Kyra led Jack and Edgar up the stairs and into the main bedroom. Paul's eyes grew wide with surprise when he saw them.

"Hey guys!" he called from where he was sitting up in the bed, flipping through the TV channels, "What are you doing here? I thought you were helping with the build?"

"Things are a little…tense at the shop," replied Jack as she shot Kyra a nervous glance, "We heard about what happened last night. We're sorry that the bike is causing you guys so much extra work. We feel bad about what went down."

Paul sneered, "It's not your fault my dad conked me over the head with an exhaust pipe."

"Damn," muttered Edgar, "Sig and I have had our share of fights but he hasn't hit me yet…knock on wood. I mean he used to beat the crap outta me when we were kids but not since then."

"Yeah that was the first time Dad and I ever got violent in one of our fights," muttered Paul, looking rather dejected, "Normally we just throw stuff around the shop or break down the doors."

Edgar and Jack couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Thank God Sig and Edgar haven't done that yet," said Jack, "Repairs on the boat would be constant if that were the case."

"So…what started the fight exactly?" asked Edgar as Kyra brought in some chairs for them to sit in.

"I dunno really," muttered Paul, "I mean, we were arguing over which exhaust to put on one of the production bikes and he flipped out. I guess it got personal and I struck a nerve and that was the last straw for him. He just snapped."

"Sounds familiar," replied Edgar with a sneer, "Sig and I always fight over who controls what. He thinks since he's the captain of the boat that he gets to make every decision and that he's never wrong, but I run the deck so I have to control some things. He doesn't quite get that so we fight over whose territory is whose."

"Wow, that's almost scary," said Kyra, "That seems to be what Senior and Junior fight over a lot too."

"Yep," muttered Paul, "Dad thinks because he's the main owner of the shop that he always knows best. And he's a control freak. It gets ridiculous sometimes."

"We noticed," said Jack as she gave Paul a sympathetic look.

"Are you guys gonna go back to the shop?" asked Edgar, "I mean…you didn't quit or anything did you?"

"Not _yet_," piped up Paul.

"No we didn't," replied Kyra, "We're taking a day off to recuperate and make sure Paul's okay before we head back in. That and I think it'd do him and Senior some good to be apart for awhile. And we never get any time to be alone, so this is as good of an excuse as any."

"Aw you guys are having a little romantic day to yourself?" asked Jack, "I'm so sorry for interrupting!"

"Oh, no worries," said Kyra with a smile, "We welcome your company."

"Dude," whispered Edgar as he stood up and walked over to Paul, "Did you try the whole 'nurse and patient' routine? I do that every time I get hurt and have to stay in bed. Works like a charm!"

Paul laughed, "Oh yeah, been there done that. And it does work!"

Kyra and Jack looked over at their men and narrowed their eyes suspiciously as they listened to them whisper and giggle like girls.

"I swear men gossip and whisper more than women," said Jack as she shook her head.

"I hear ya," replied Kyra, "The guys in the shop always whisper and giggle like that…they're such kids sometimes. But you can't help but love them."

"Ain't that the truth!" replied Jack as she gazed fondly at her fiancé who was playfully punching Paul Jr. and laughing like a little kid.

"Oh, man do you have any of those welding things?" asked Edgar, "Like any extras at the shop or something? I'll pay you for them…they make awesome flame throwers."

Paul smiled mischievously, "Yeah, you remember that place in the back of the shop I took you too while everyone was busy working on the bikes?"

Edgar nodded, "Yeah where we lit that trashcan full of crap on fire? And then used the potato gun to shoot flammable stuff into it?"

Paul and Edgar laughed at the memory.

"Yeah, that's it," said Paul, lowering his voice, "Go back there, on the top shelf all the way in the back are two that we never use. They're yours."

"Really? Dude you're freaking awesome!" said Edgar as he grabbed Paul's hand excitedly, "Are you sure we weren't separated at birth or something?"

"What are you two scheming about over there?" called Jack.

"Nothing," said Edgar quickly as he composed himself.

"Yeah right," muttered Jack as she and Kyra exchanged knowing looks, "Okay we better get outta here…let the young couple have some alone time."

Kyra blushed a little at that as she gave Jack a hug, "Thanks so much for stopping by. It was really great to meet you guys…keep in touch okay? You all leave tonight right?"

"Yeah we'll be outta here by ten tonight," said Jack, "The rest of the crew is helping out at the shop till then I think."

"Dude, don't lose that number," said Edgar as he handed a piece of paper to Paul, "Keep in touch man, and good luck with your dad."

"Thanks," sneered Paul, "I'll need it!"

After Kyra led Jack and Edgar to the door she walked back up the stairs and crawled into bed with Paul. As she crawled across the bed, she raised her eyebrow suggestively and licked her lips. Paul's eyes widened in excitement and he gave her a boyish, lopsided grin.

"You are such a tease," he growled as he reached out and hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her up against him.

Kyra squealed as Paul wrapped his big arms around her slender frame and slipped his tongue into her mouth. After a good, long and much-needed make-out session, Paul pulled away and gazed into Kyra's eyes for a moment.

"You are so freaking amazing, I don't even think you realize it," he said softly as he played with her hair.

Kyra's eyes glowed, "You're not so bad yourself, you know."

Paul rolled his eyes, "Please…I'm gonna be that guy that people look at and go 'how the hell did _he_ get _her.'_"

"No they aren't," protested Kyra as she leaned up to kiss him, "Trust me, Paul…you're hot as hell."

The boyish, lopsided grin reappeared on Paul's face and Kyra couldn't help but laugh at the expression. With all the drama and stress going on back at the shop, Kyra was glad she had decided to give her and Paul Jr. the day off of work. They both needed this alone time more than anything else. After all, tomorrow all the craziness of OCC would start all over again. She sighed at the thought as she leaned in to grant Paul access to her mouth again. She was determined to make this precious time worth every second…

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	8. Misplaced Priorities

**Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! :D they are MUCH appreciated! I've been writing as much as possible before I have to head out to college…8 more days then I'm outta here : ( but, I'll do my best to update whenever I can before I head out. Even though this story isn't nearly as popular as my Deadliest Catch ones, I've had more fun writing this one than any of the others I've ever written…maybe because its new material and new characters to work with…its inspiring : ) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still….own no body….'cept Kyra and Jack….that's it**

Misplaced Priorities 

Paul Jr and Kyra walked into OCC early the next morning. They decided that since they had taken the previous day off it would be a good idea to be a few minutes early.

"Hey," said Vinnie quietly as they walked into the shop, "How you doin' man?"

"I'm alright," muttered Paul as he hugged his friend, "More upset than in any pain really."

Vinnie gave Paul a sympathetic nod, "Yeah I'm sorry man…that has to be rough to deal with."

"It is," said Paul quietly, "So, how we doing on the bike? What's the status report?"

Kyra circled the bike while Vinnie talked about it.

"We sent the parts over to Nubs to be painted. I went with the design ideas you guys came up with and Nubs added to it. He's gonna paint the Northwestern emerging through a fog on the rear fender and then a panoramic-style painting of Dutch Harbor on the gas tank. We're sticking with your idea, Kyra, with the seat: dark brown leather with the crab pot rope. We're gonna put indentions in the seat and sit the rope in the indentions so that its level with the rest of the leather on the seat. It'll make for a more comfortable ride. So in other words we're surprisingly on schedule."

"Excellent," said Kyra as she appraised the bike, "Good work, Vinnie…sorry about skipping out on you guys yesterday."

"It's no problem," said Vinnie with a shrug, "You guys needed the time off…you work too damn hard."

"Not any harder than you do," said Kyra, giving Vinnie a kind smile.

Vinnie was by far one of her favorite people in the shop. He followed the rules to a certain extent. He was willing to break the rules when moral obligations got in the way and he was very loyal to his friends. On top of that, he was an overall happy and up-lifting person. He had a positive attitude and worked hard with very little complaint. Ricky on the other hand, although a good friend and good guy overall, was a stickler to the rules. He was always fearful of upsetting Senior and practically kissed his backside sometimes.

"He's gonna kill you both," said Ricky as he walked over.

"He already tried, remember?" said Paul Jr. with a bitter tone in his voice.

Just then, Senior walked into the shop. Everyone instantly grew quiet as Senior walked around the bike and studied the progress the crew had made. He didn't even glance at Kyra or Junior as he talked to Rick and Vinnie.

Kyra was annoyed by the whole display. In her eyes it was incredibly childish. She sneered in disgust as she turned on her heel and made a bee-line for her office with Paul Jr. following close behind her…

…

_One Week Later…_

"This is ridiculous," said Kyra as she sketched away on her pad, "It's seriously getting so old I don't think I can take much more of it."

"I know, baby," said Paul Jr as he frowned sadly, "It's not fair…but there's nothing else we can really do besides just doing our jobs."

"He acts like we don't even exist," sneered Kyra, "He won't talk to us so how the hell am I supposed to get my designs approved? The Northwestern bike is almost done and that means I gotta start fabricating my bikes but I can't do that till Senior gives me the okay."

"Maybe by the time the Northwestern bike is done he'll talk to you," said Paul, sounding a little disheartened, "I doubt he'll speak to me ever again."

"Which is stupid. It's not like you did anything…he's the one that knocked you out for some stupid exhaust pipe on a freaking production bike."

"Calm down, hun," said Paul with a light laugh as he stood up and massaged his girlfriend's shoulders, "Take a deep breath and relax…this is my issue to deal with, don't stress out over it.Use all that creative brain power of yours for your new choppers and I'll worry about my dad."

"Yeah, I know," said Kyra, sighing in contentment as Paul rubbed her tight shoulders, "I just worry because I see how much it affects you…and I care about you a lot. So it just bothers me to see you upset over something so silly and juvenile."

Paul smirked, "Its okay…I can handle it," he said as he flexed his arms, "I'm tough enough."

Kyra rolled her eyes at the display and gave Paul a gentle punch in the stomach, "Get back to work, 'tough guy.' We got a lot to do."

Paul Jr laughed as he sat back down at his desk and worked on the design for the muffler of the Northwestern bike…

…

"Yo, Paulie!"

Paul Jr jumped in surprise when he recognized his dad's voice. It had been nearly two weeks since the two Teutuls had spoken to one another and Paul Jr hadn't expected his dad to speak to him again for quite a bit longer than that.

Vinnie and Ricky stopped working immediately and exchanged anxious looks as they braced for another explosion of anger.

"Um, yeah?" he called from where he was standing next to the Northwestern bike.

"Nubs brought in the new parts…start putting them on the bike, I wanna see how they look," ordered Senior as he walked over, carrying the front and rear fenders.

"Uh, yeah sure," said Paul Jr, still looking stunned.

Just as Paul started putting on the front fender though, Senior's face tightened in anger as he looked at the tires on the bike.

"What the hell is this?" he growled.

"Aw shit," cursed Ricky when he saw the look on Senior's face.

"What?" whispered Vinnie, eyes wide with worry.

Ricky pointed to where Senior and Junior were working on the bike. Vinnie took one look at Senior's face and swallowed nervously, "Aw, shit," he said, echoing Ricky's statement.

"Um, yeah Dad that's what we decided on when the Northwestern guys were here, remember?" said Junior, trying to keep his voice at a calm, even keel.

"The hell we did!" roared Senior, working himself up into a rage, "I would never put those ugly-ass things on that bike!"

"Crap," muttered Mikey Teutul as he walked over to Vinnie and Ricky, "Not again."

"Dad, that's what you told me you wanted so I put them on there," said Junior, his voice taking on a tone of despair as he realized that his father was escalating into another temper tantrum, "Dad please don't get upset again. If you don't like the wheels I'll change them. It's not worth all this."

"You better believe you'll change them!" shouted Senior, "Damn it Paulie I thought you were a better designer than this!"

Paul Jr. felt rage boiling up inside of him. He closed his eyes and forced himself to remain as calm as possible. Getting angry and yelling would only make things much worse.

"I'm sorry, Dad," he said quietly, "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to do what I hired you to do! Design good bikes! Not this shit!"

"Okay…I'm sorry."

"Stop fucking apologizing!" boomed Senior, his face turning red with anger.

"Why are you turning this into something it's not?" asked Junior, clearly looking bewildered by the whole outburst.

"Don't fucking talk back to me!" roared Senior as he took a step forward and got in Junior's face.

Paul Jr put his hands up in surrender and took a step back. He averted his gaze and lowered his voice.

"Sorry, Dad…"

Senior reached out and grabbed Paul Jr. by the collar. He pushed him up against the back wall and yelled in his face.

"Stop fucking apologizing!" he screamed, "I'm sick of dealing with you and your shit! I'm not a fucking babysitter!"

Senior dropped Junior and watched as he fell to the floor in a startled heap, coughing and choking as he rubbed his neck. Senior sneered in disgust and stormed out of the shop, slamming the door behind him.

"That's it!" shouted Vinnie, "That's fucking it! I can't do this anymore!"

"No," said Ricky as he reached out to Vinnie, his face full of dismay, "No, Vinnie don't…"

"No, Rick I can't do it," said Vinnie, "I can't work under these conditions. I've done it for five years and I can't deal with it anymore…I quit!"

Vinnie slammed the hammer he had been using onto the tool table and walked quickly away.

"Vin!" said Paul, his voice scratchy from his father's attack, "Don't man…come on…"

Vinnie shot his friend a sad, despairing look, "I'm sorry, Paulie…I can't."

Paul frowned as he watched one of his closest friends leave the shop for the last time. His heart suddenly hurt more than his neck. His relationship with his father had completely disintegrated and now he had just lost one of his best friends in the world.

Kyra burst into the shop, eyes wild with fear and confusion as she prepared to see the worst possible thing as she walked into the room.

"I heard yelling," she said as she glanced over at saw Paul picking himself off the floor, "Oh no," she said, her face falling with despair, "Not again."

Kyra walked over to Paul and gave him a hug as she studied his condition, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," said Paul quietly, "Physically anyway."

Kyra glanced over at Ricky and was surprised to see such a sad, heartbroken look on his face.

"Ricky?" she asked, looking confused and concerned, "What's wrong?"

"It's Vinnie," he muttered sadly, "He just left…he said her can't deal with it anymore. He quit. He told me before that he was thinking about leaving. I talked him out of it and told him to stick with it…that we needed him. But, I guess that was the last straw…he's gone."

Kyra's eyes widened in shock as she absorbed the news, "He…he quit?"

Ricky nodded as he put his head in his hands, "Yeah…everything is falling apart. How much longer can the rest of us go on like this? It's only a matter of time till the whole damn shop quits."

Suddenly, a stubborn and infuriated look came over Kyra's face.

"I'm sick of this," she muttered as she walked quickly out of the shop.

"Oh don't tell me you're quitting too?" Ricky cried in despair.

"No, I'm putting an end to this…or at least I'm gonna try," said Kyra resolutely as she walked out of the shop.

"Aw shit," muttered Paul, "I hope she's not gonna do what I think she's doing…"

…

"Senior!" yelled Kyra as she stormed into his office, "I need to have a word with you!"

Senior looked up from his computer and gave Kyra an infuriated look, "If it's about Paulie or anything remotely like that then get the hell out."

"Yeah it has to do with Paulie and no I'm not going anywhere," snarled Kyra, her eyes flashing with anger, "This is insane! You guys fight like you want to kill each other! You knocked out your own son a couple weeks ago and now you try to strangle him? Do you have any idea how sick and screwed up that is?"

"Mind your own damn business!"roared Senior as his face began to turn red again.

"He is my business! I'm his damn girlfriend!"

Senior looked taken aback by that news. He blinked in surprise as he tried to accept that information.

"Yeah that's right," said Kyra, eyes narrowed with anger, "But you wouldn't know anything about that would you? You're too busy being an asshole to even know what's going on in your son's life! You have an absolutely amazing son, Senior and he deserves to be treated a hell of a lot better than this!"

"Watch it!" roared Senior, "You're overstepping your bounds, Kyra! If you want to keep your job watch what you're saying to me!"

Kyra took a deep, shaky breath and tried to force herself to calm down, "Fine," she snapped, "But you're wasting precious time arguing and hurting your son. You aren't getting any younger…do you really want things to end like this between the two of you? What if one of you gets in an accident on the way home and dies, huh? Or what if you have a heart attack during one of your temper tantrums? Is this how you want to remember things? Is this how you want your son to remember you?"

"He hates me anyway so who cares?" muttered Senior, his face taking on a pained expression.

"Are you kidding me?" exclaimed Kyra, "He loves you! He's been acting like he has a broken heart for the past couple weeks because of what's gone down with you two! Senior, please fix this before something worse happens. Vinnie already quit…"

"Vinnie quit?" exclaimed Senior, looking shocked.

"Yeah he just left," said Kyra, her voice taking on a sad note, "We just lost one of the greatest mechanics and one of the greatest guys in this shop because of this crap. He couldn't take it anymore so he's gone and honestly, I don't blame him."

Senior sat still for a long moment before he looked up at Kyra, "Get out," he said, his voice resuming its hard tone.

"Senior…"

"GET OUT!"

Kyra flinched at the harshness in Senior's voice and the rage in his eyes. She shook her head sadly as she turned to leave, feeling a sense of hopelessness rush over her…

…

"You did _what_?" yelled Paul Jr.

"I talked to your dad about what's been going on here," said Kyra, looking somewhat confused at Paul's response, "Someone's gotta make this crap stop before it gets any worse."

"Kyra, what the hell? I told you I wanted to handle this on my own!"

"I know, Paul," said Kyra, sounding flabbergasted, "I was just trying to help…I thought…"

"You were trying to _help_?" asked Paul, his voice taking on an incredulous tone, "Kyra you probably just made it one-hundred times worse! He's gonna be so pissed at me."

"Oh, you mean more than bashing you over the head with a pipe and strangling you?" snapped Kyra, "I'm sick of this crap, Paul and so is the rest of the crew! It's about time someone does something to fix this."

"And what do you expect me to do?" sneered Paul.

"Oh, gee I have no idea, maybe _talk _to your dad?" said Kyra giving Paul an incredulous look, "Maybe talk about this baggage you've carried around for the past few years of your life?"

"Don't get involved in my personal business, Kyra," snapped Paul.

"I'm your girlfriend! I'm supposed to be involved in your personal business!"

"Look, Kyra," said Paul, losing his patience with the conversation, "This isn't just something between me and my dad, alright? I own part of this company and so does he. This is a business and I have to balance that with this personal crap. I'm not going to talk to him because it'll make things worse and then it'll hurt the company. We already lost Vinnie I can't risk losing anyone else."

"So you're just gonna let this go?" said Kyra, sounding disgusted, "You're just gonna sit back and let him walk all over you? The next time he snaps you could get seriously hurt or worse, Paul!"

"I can't Kyra! I won't risk affecting the company!"

"Oh like you two aren't negatively affecting it _now_?"

"Kyra this is my _life_!" shouted Paul, "This business, the bikes, it's everything to me! It's my whole life! I've poured my heart and soul into this place and I'm not gonna risk losing it!"

"So what are you gonna do then?" sneered Kyra, "Just ignore this shit and keep on working? Because in case you hadn't noticed, it's not working very well. And if this place is your 'life' then where the hell do I fit in?"

"You work here don't you?" snapped Paul, his last shred of patience now gone.

Kyra flinched at that. A look of shock flittered over her face as she absorbed Paul's stinging retort. She shook her head in disgust as she turned to leave.

Paul saw the hurt and shock on Kyra's face and realized what he had said, "No, wait, Kyra…"

But Kyra just put her hand up and waved him off as she stormed out of the office, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Damn it!" said Paul as he slammed his fist down on the back of his office chair. He cursed himself as he heard Kyra start up her Honda Civic and pull quickly out of the parking lot. He realized with a sinking heart that he was single-handedly throwing everyone that ever meant anything to him out of his life. He cursed the whole situation as he sat back down at his desk and pulled out a sketch pad and began to draw, trying to force himself to think about anything other than what had just happened…

**PLEASE REVIEW! …pretty please…I love reviews lol : )**


	9. Change of Pace

**Thank you so much to everyone who is reading and reviewing!**

**Did anyone catch the new show last night? American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior? How awesome is it that Vinnie is back and working for Junior! I literally screamed when Vinnie pulled into the parking lot of Paul Jr. Designs! :D Yeah I'm definitely on Paul Junior's side lol : ) I hope his business is successful!**

**Disclaimer: I still own no one besides Kyra and Jack….and yes I'm still sad about this fact…**

Change of Pace

The next morning Kyra entered the shop silently. She walked right past Paul Jr and sat down behind her desk without saying a word or even acknowledging his presence.

Paul frowned as he turned to look at Kyra. She was pulling up the software on her computer to make a 3-D model of one of her creations, completely ignoring the fact that he was even in the same room.

"Paulie!" roared Senior, "Get the hell out here! We gotta finish fabricating this bike now!"

Paul sighed as he cast one last guilty glance at Kyra before he left and headed out into the shop. Kyra just shook her head in disgust as she felt a stinging in her eyes. Just then, the door opened again and Mikey Teutul walked into the room, pushing his bushy, red hair out of his eyes. Kyra quickly wiped the tears off her face as Mikey walked over and sat down next to her.

"How you doing?" he asked as he carefully studied Kyra's face.

Kyra just shrugged, "I'm fine…you?"

Mikey rolled his eyes, "Paulie called me last night and told me what happened. He was really upset with himself."

"He should be," grumbled Kyra, "I was only trying to help."

"He knows," assured Mikey as he patted Kyra's back reassuringly, "He's just under a lot of pressure and stress with everything going on between him and Senior and with the bike build. It's not an excuse, of course…but it is a reason. I'm sure he didn't mean to snap at you like that."

Kyra smiled kindly at Mikey, "Thanks, Mikey…I probably overreacted to his response anyway. I was pretty rattled after talking to Senior."

"Yeah that's a pretty common feeling around this place," said Mikey as he rolled his eyes.

Kyra smirked. Mikey Teutul was definitely the more low-key, easy-going one of the three Teutuls that worked in the shop and she always enjoyed it when he stopped by her office to say hi. His crazy antics in the shop kept the crew on their toes and lightened the mood. Kyra estimated that he'd broken through at least a dozen doors with his various creations he made since she had joined the crew.

"How's the battering ram coming?" she asked with a smirk, "I heard a nasty rumor about that in the shop the other day."

Mikey just smirked, "Don't you worry your pretty little head about that…you'll find out soon enough."

"Should I start ordering some more doors?" asked Kyra with a laugh.

"Oh yeah…might wanna go ahead and order about ten or so."

"That many?" asked Kyra, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh yeah baby," replied Mikey, his eyes sparkling with mischief, "Go hard or go home!"

Kyra laughed, "Alright go work on your machine, I gotta get this design done by lunch."

"Adios Senorita!" called Mikey as he left Kyra and Paul's office.

…

"Hey Paul?"

"Yeah Mikey?" asked Paul as he wandered around the Northwestern bike, looking lost and sad.

"You're coming to lunch with me, my treat. Let's move we gotta get back and finish this beast."

Paul Jr. raised an eyebrow at that, "Why am I going with you to lunch?"

"Because I said so…so shut up and let's go," ordered Mikey.

"Sheesh, okay I'm coming," said Paul, looking a bit surprised that his little brother was ordering him around, "You're starting to sound like Dad…"

…

"You really need to talk to him, Paul," said Mikey after he took a big bite out of his Subway Italian sub sandwich.

Paul sighed, "That's so much easier said than done, Mikey you know that."

"Yeah I do, but what else are you gonna do? Sit around and let this crap continue? It's not just affecting you and Senior you know. Kyra's taken a beating…she's really upset with you by the way, and the rest of the crew is basically hanging on a thread. It's not gonna take much for the rest of them to start leaving."

Paul felt a stab of guilt when Mikey mentioned Kyra being upset, "Yeah…I hurt Kyra's feelings pretty bad I guess. I didn't mean to say what I said…I didn't mean a word of it either. She means more to me than that shop. I'm such an idiot."

"No, you've just reached your limit," said Mikey as he took a large gulp of soda, "Everyone has a breaking point, even you. You're stressed out about finishing the Northwestern bike and you're probably emotionally drained because of the stuff going on between you and Dad. You have to do something, Paul, something's gotta give and you and I both know it's not gonna be the bike projects."

Paul sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah…I know. I'll see if Dad's not busy when we get back to the shop. Maybe if he's in a good mood I'll talk to him and see what I can do. I can't promise it'll go over smoothly but I'll try."

"That's all anyone's asking you to do, Paulie," assured Mikey, "Do what you gotta do to make this stop…"

…

Paul Jr. took a deep breath before he dared to knock on his father's office door. He glanced up and down the hallway to make sure no one else was around. If his dad blew up again he'd prefer it if there weren't any more witnesses than necessary. Gathering up every shred of courage and resolve he could muster, he reached up and knocked on the door.

Paul waited for a moment then called out, "Hey, Dad? You in there?"

There was no response. Paul frowned at that and knocked again. Still no response. He knew that his dad was in there…he had seen him walk into his office shortly after he and Mikey had returned from their lunch break. After a moment Paul tested the door knob. The door was unlocked so he pushed it open a little and peered inside…

…

Kyra jumped when she heard Paul Jr let out a horrendous scream from the hallway. She quickly stood up and raced out of the office in the direction where she heard his cry. Mikey was already ahead of her and Ricky had stopped working on the bike and made his way out into the hallway.

"Dad!" screamed Paul in the same, gut-wrenching cry.

Mikey cried out in surprise as he turned the corner and entered Senior's office. Kyra peered over his shoulder to see what was going on. Her eyes widened in shock at the scene that unfolded in front of her.

Senior was lying on the floor on his face in a pool of his own saliva. His desk chair had been turned over and several papers lay scattered on the floor. Paul Jr was cradling his dad's head in his hands, staring at him in shock. He looked up at Mikey, his eyes wide with disbelief and horror.

"Mikey call an ambulance!" he yelled, his voice tense with panic, "I think he's had a heart attack!"

"Oh my God," muttered Ricky as he entered the room, "Oh God…"

Kyra felt her entire body go into a state of shock. Her mind was having trouble fathoming what was happening and everything seemed to go in slow motion. She reached over and grabbed the door frame to steady herself as the room around her spun out of control.

…

_Three hours later…_

Paul Jr. and Mikey Teutul walked back into the shop, their eyes blood-shot and glazed over from the stress of all that had gone on in the last few hours.

Ricky walked over to Mikey as Mikey slowly walked into the shop, "Is he okay? What's going on?" asked Ricky, his voice shaky with panic.

Mikey held out his hand, trying to tell Ricky to calm down. He cleared his throat to get the rest of the shop's attention before he spoke, "Dad suffered a massive heart attack. He's gonna be fine…the doctors want him to stay the rest of the day and tonight in the hospital just for observation and to make sure nothing else happens. I know this is hard on everyone right now…but we really have to keep working. After all, just think what Dad would say if he came back and we didn't do anything but sit around and mope. He'd kill all of us."

The OCC crew smirked a little at the thought and nodded in agreement. They all gave Mikey reassuring hugs and went back to work.

Meanwhile, Junior was in no mood to talk to anyone. The guilt that had been nagging at him for the past couple days had grown into a horrible, stabbing pain in his chest. He made a bee-line for the office he shared with Kyra the second he got back from the hospital.

Kyra looked up when she heard someone open the door. The second she saw the look on Paul's face she stood up and walked over to him. Without saying a word she wrapped him in her arms and hugged him tightly.

Paul felt his heart constrict with emotion as he wrapped his arms around Kyra. His knees grew weak with emotion as he felt the last of his strength give way. He sank down to his knees and Kyra followed him, holding him close the whole time while he broke down and sobbed on her shoulder. Kyra cried with him, stroking his hair and holding him close while Junior let out all the emotion he had been holding back for so long.

When they finally pulled away from each other, Paul cupped Kyra's face in his hands and looked into her light-brown eyes, "I'm so sorry," he whispered hoarsely, "Oh, Kyra, baby I'm so sorry…I didn't mean what I said…I…Kyra I love you. You mean more to me than this place, I hope you know that."

Kyra let the tears fall freely as she replied, "I know…I'm sorry for over-reacting to everything. I was just upset…I love you too, Paul."

Paul leaned in and kissed Kyra with a fierce passion that took her breath away. She could literally feel the meaning in his rough kiss and in that moment she knew that Paul truly did love her very much. Her heart nearly burst with emotion as she kissed him back, wanting to put the same kind of passion behind her touch that Paul was putting in his. She wanted him to feel the way she felt about him, and as they finally pulled back, the astonished and happy look in his eyes told her she had been successful in conveying her simple, yet meaningful message.

"How's Senior?" asked Kyra after a moment.

"He's okay," said Paul, his eyes taking on a worried gleam, "The doctors want him to stay overnight for observation but other than that they said he should be okay…he had a massive heart attack."

Kyra's eyes darkened at that. She shook her head sadly, "Oh, Paul…I'm sorry. I'm glad he's gonna be okay though."

Paul sighed, his voice shaky as he replied, "Yeah, but it's my fault…"

"What?" asked Kyra, her voice sharp with surprise, "How in the world could this be your fault?"

"I'm always upsetting him," said Paul, hanging his head, "I waited too long to talk to him…I was gonna talk to him and try to work things out when I got back from lunch, but…he had the heart attack…"

"Paul," said Kyra as she put her hand under his chin and forced him to look at her, "If you hadn't gone in there when you did, there's no telling how long Senior would have been lying on the floor. For all you know you just saved his life!"

"I bet if I didn't upset him so much this wouldn't have happened…"

"Paul, you're being ridiculous," said Kyra, resolutely, "You can't blame yourself for this. Your dad gets upset over everything, not just you. I'm sure he has the highest blood pressure of anyone in the shop. This isn't your fault, Paul."

Paul took a deep, shaky breath and forced himself to nod, "Yeah, I know…I just feel bad about how things are between us right now. I wanna talk to him still…maybe when he gets back to the shop."

Kyra nodded in agreement, "I think that'd be a good idea. Give him some time to rest and recuperated from the heart attack and then try to talk to him. I'm in your corner Paul…if you need me I'll always be here."

Paul gazed fondly into his girlfriend's eyes. He smiled as a now-familiar feeling of warmth spread through him. He leaned in and kissed her.

"Thank you…I don't know what I'd do without you," he whispered as he ran his hands through her brown hair.

Kyra smiled back at him, "Right back at you Paul Jr. Now get outta here...you have to finish fabricating that bike."

Paul smirked in amusement as he complied with his girlfriend's orders, "Mam yes mam!" he said as he left their office and headed out into the fabrication area of the shop.

…

_Two Hours later…_

"GANG WAY!" shouted Mikey as he roared into the shop on his battering ram.

"What the hell?" exclaimed Rick with an amused look on his face as Mikey drove the battering ram around the bikes.

Paul just laughed as he watched his little brother goof off. Mikey took one look at the door that led to the hallway and the other offices of OCC and hit the gas pedal.

"CHARGE"! he roared as the battering ram lurched forward.

The OCC crew scattered out of the way as Mikey made a bee-line for the door. The battering ram plunged right through the door, sending shards of wood in every which direction. But Mikey didn't stop there. He continued his fake tirade down the hallway, breaking door after door for every office in the building.

Kyra was sitting at her desk, finishing up one of her designs when she heard Mikey's battle cry.

"Oh no," she muttered just as Mikey's battering ram plunged through her office door.

Mikey let out a loud, evil laugh, "Muwahahaha! Take that!" he said as he pulled back and continued his way down the hall.

Kyra just shook her head in bewilderment, "Guess I shoulda ordered more than ten doors huh?" she called after Mikey who only replied with another evil laugh.

Paul Jr. cautiously walked into the design office and exchanged an amused and bewildered look with Kyra. They both just broke out with laughter at the absurdity of the whole situation. Paul had tears in his eyes he was laughing so hard and Kyra was convinced that her sides were going to split from the effort.

They both flinched when they heard Mikey coming back down the hallway at full speed. They caught a glimpse of him as he and the battering ram roared past their office and back out into the main area of the shop. Kyra stood up and ran over to where Paul was standing where the door used to be and looked out into the hall. They laughed even harder when they saw the startled and scared looks on the OCC crew's faces as they scattered and jumped up on tables to avoid Mikey.

Kyra laughed as she watched Rick yell at Mikey from atop his perch on his own tool shelf. Despite all the chaos and destruction Mikey was causing, the crew desperately needed this. To goof off and laugh till they cried was something that the crew hadn't done in a long time and after all that had been going on the past few weeks, it was a much needed break.

"Alright, knock it off!" ordered Junior after a few minutes, "Mikey, get off that thing and help Ricky polish up the Northwestern bike! We're revealing that thing tomorrow. The Northwestern crew is flying in tomorrow morning and we're unveiling it in the shop so we gotta make sure the bike is good to go and we need to set up an area to reveal it."

Kyra felt a surge of excitement when she realized that the Northwestern crew would be at the shop tomorrow morning. The OCC crew had really bonded with them during the time they had stayed and helped with designing the bike. With a new feeling of optimism and excitement, Kyra closed up the design shop and decided to join the OCC crew and clean up the mess Mikey had made. The rest of that afternoon was filled with laughter as the crew worked together to ready the shop for the big reveal. Kyra prayed that the positive atmosphere would last at least for a little while…

…

**Please Review!**


	10. Big Reveals and Big Changes

**As always thanks to those who read and review! I'll be heading back to school on the twentieth it looks like so next Wednesday will be the last time I'll be able to update for awhile. As I mentioned earlier, I still plan to work on this story while I'm away, the updates just won't be nearly as frequent. My best guess right now is that the updates will be once a week or once every other week dependent upon my school work load and whatever else is going on. But I'm really passionate about this story so I'm not gonna give up on it! : ) I was going to write a sequel but I decided to just put it here with the original story. I'll name the first chapter of the "sequel" Part 2 when we reach that point. Enjoy! : )**

**Disclaimer: Still…only own Jack and Kyra…and I still want Paul Jr. and Edgar so if someone could make that happen that'd be wonderful lol ; )**

Big Reveals and Big Changes

"Alright let's make this place cleaner than the damn hospital," ordered Senior as he walked into OCC headquarters the next morning.

"Senior!" called Ricky from where he was working on a production bike, "How you doing?"

"I'm fine," barked Senior, "Forget about it, we got things to do! Kyra! Paulie!"

"Dad's back," muttered Paul Jr when he heard his dad's bellowing voice out in the fabrication area of the shop.

Kyra smirked, "What was your first sign? Come on, let's go see what he wants."

"Yippee," grumbled Paul as they left the design office.

"We have about twenty minutes till they come," said Senior as Kyra and Junior joined him in the fabrication room, "So you all better haul ass or I'll kick your ass!"

"Wonderful pep talk, Dad," muttered Junior as he walked past Senior and began to help Rick get the bike off of the lift.

The OCC crew looked tense as they watched Senior curse Junior under his breath while he cleaned up the area they had designated for the reveal. Kyra sighed as she looked around the shop. The optimistic and jovial mood the crew had been in the day before had been destroyed in a matter of seconds. The normal tense, anxious atmosphere had returned.

"Business as usual," muttered Kyra, "Some things never change…"

…

"Hey OCC what's happenin'?" announced Sig Hansen as he and the rest of the Northwestern crew sauntered into OCC headquarters.

"Hey man, how you doin'?" asked Edgar Hansen as he and Paul Jr. exchanged a brotherly hug.

"Been better, been worse I guess," said Paul with a forced smile.

"What's going on?" asked Edgar, a concerned expression on his face when he saw the look in Junior's eyes.

"Dad had a heart attack…and things aren't getting any better between us," said Paul quietly as he looked over to where his dad was talking with Sig.

"Damn," muttered Edgar, "I'm sorry to hear that…glad to hear your dad is okay though."

"Yeah it's whatever," said Paul, shrugging it off, "Anyway, how are the blow torches?"

Edgar's eyes lit up, "Dude, they're freaking awesome!"

Jack walked up and rolled her eyes at that response, "Yeah he already caught the apartment on fire twice with those things. Thanks Paul…thanks a bunch."

Paul laughed, "Sorry, Jack."

Kyra smirked as she and Jack exchanged hugs, "Yeah sorry, Jack. These boys are uncontrollable sometimes."

"That they are," agreed Jack, "And yet for some reason we love them."

"It's truly a mystery, surrounded by a riddle and wrapped in an enigma," laughed Kyra.

Jack burst out laughing at that, "That's the best way I've ever heard it put! I couldn't have said it any better myself."

"Alright, don't we have a bike or something?" interrupted Edgar, peering over Paul's shoulder.

"Yeah something like that," said Paul as he and Senior walked over to where a huge blue tarp was hanging up in the middle of the shop with the "Deadliest Catch" logo and Northwestern symbol in the center of the tarp.

"Start it up!" roared Senior as Paul disappeared behind the tarp.

A few seconds later the roar of a powerful motorcycle engine reverberated through the shop. The OCC crew cheered as they listened to the engine purr as Paul tested the throttle. A moment later, a loud ripping sound was heard as Mikey roared through the tarp on his battering ram.

The crews of the Northwestern and OCC laughed hysterically at the sight. Mikey was wearing a superman costume and had a sword in one hand and a toy water gun in the other. He was screaming like a rogue warrior as the battering ram did a "burn out" in the middle of the shop. Mikey aimed the squirt gun at the Northwestern crew and started shooting.

"Alright, knock it off!" laughed Senior as he watched his youngest son goofing off, "Bring out the real thing!"

Paul Jr. pulled out from behind the tarp riding the Northwestern motorcycle. Sig and his crew gasped in surprise as Junior pulled the bike up next to them and hopped off.

"As you can see, we gave her a more sleek, modern design," said Paul Jr. as he explained the details of the bike, "We matched the Northwestern's exact colors and even got a little bit of red pin striping here that matches the red color of the word 'Northwestern' on the side of your boat."

"This painting on the back fender is amazing!" breathed Jack as she studied the painting of the Northwestern emerging through a fog.

"Dude, check out the painting of Dutch Harbor on the gas tank!" said Edgar as he ran his hand over the shiny tank.

"The seat is made of brown leather, made to match the color of the pipes you guys use on the crab pots," said Kyra as she stepped forward and laid a hand on the seat, "And the rope you see inlaid inside the leather is the actual crab pot rope you guys gave us to use for inspiration. And down here, the air cleaner cover is actually the symbol that you, Sig, designed to represent you and your brothers."

"Damn this thing is beautiful!" exclaimed Sig as he circled the bike, "You guys really out-did yourselves on this one."

Senior shrugged, "Nah it's just what we do."

The Northwestern crew shook hands with the OCC crew and hung about for awhile while Paul Jr. helped Sig and Edgar learn how to sit on the bike properly and showed them where all the controls were. When it was time for the Northwestern crew to head out, the OCC crew was sad to see them go, but pleased at the success of the reveal. They'd worked their butts off on this bike and it had showed.

"Alright, Kyra," said Senior once the Northwestern crew had left, "You know what this means right?"

"Yep…time to start fabrication on the line of women's bikes," said Kyra, her eyes sparkling with excitement. For several weeks she'd been designing and customizing the new line of bikes and now she'd finally be able to get out of the design office and get her hands dirty putting the bikes together.

"Starting tomorrow morning I want you to start working on the bikes," said Senior, "You can have Paulie and Ricky help you as you need it but you're to do the majority of the work, alright?"

"Got it," assured Kyra.

The OCC crew spent the afternoon cleaning up and finishing up some work on the regular production bikes before they called it a day and left the shop for the evening.

"You busy tonight?" asked Paul Jr as he put his arm around Kyra's waist.

"As a matter of fact, no I'm not," replied Kyra with a smile.

"Good…because you're coming to my place. Homemade spaghetti sound good to you?"

"That sounds amazing," said Kyra as she climbed into her Honda Civic to follow Paul Jr to his house. Her heart fluttered with excitement at the thought of spending the evening with her boyfriend…

…

"Okay, so I had this idea," whispered Paul Jr. to Ricky and Mikey the next morning, "It's sort of a secret so you guys have to swear you know nothing about it, okay?"

"Yeah, sure no problem," said Ricky, his eyes glittering with excitement, "So what is it?"

"Well…I realized last night when Kyra was at my place, we got to talking about her line of new bikes, and well, I realized that she doesn't have a bike of her own."

Mikey raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Dude I'd never thought of that! You're right, she's the only one at the shop who doesn't have her own bike yet."

"And you want to build her one yourself?" asked Ricky, smiling.

Paul nodded, "Yeah…she said her favorite bike is my Black Widow one so I was thinking of building another one of those but a little smaller and lighter so it'll be easier for her to handle. Think you guys could help me out? I'm gonna work in one of the back rooms. We can put all the parts together back there, but I'm gonna need you guys to secretly fabricate the parts. I'll take care of the frame."

"Yeah I'm in," said Mikey.

"Yeah count me in too…she deserves her own bike," said Ricky, "This'll be fun."

…

Kyra was holding up a gas tank to one of the frames she had picked out for the first bike in the women's bike line, testing to see if it would work out or not. She frowned a little when she realized the tank made the bike look bulky rather than sleek like her drawings had shown. She went back to the rack of gas tanks and pulled out a more slim-looking tank and held it up to the frame.

"Perfect," she muttered to herself as she set the piece aside. Now all she had to do was get the right oil tank then she could send the parts off to be painted at Nubs Graphix.

"Paul Teutul Junior, Mikey Teutul, and Kyra Knightly please report to Senior's office," said Steve, one of the OCC company executives over the intercom system, "I repeat, Paul Teutul Junior, Mikey Teutul, and Kyra Knightly please report to Senior's office immediately."

Kyra looked over to where Paul and Mikey were working on a new specialty bike for the Target company. All three of them exchanged nervous glances before they headed out of the shop and into Senior's office.

"What'd you need, Pops?" asked Mikey once they were all sitting down in front of Senior's desk.

"We got a new employee," said Senior as he nodded to a nervous looking young kid sitting next to him, "His name is Jason Poule and he's gonna be a drawer. Meaning he'll draw up all of Paulie and Kyra's designs on the computer and make the 3-D models. It'll cut down on time and help pick up on business. Now that Kyra's fabricating her bikes, she's not gonna have a lot of time to design like she used to. Jason's gonna move into the design office. We're putting a desk in there now, so be decent to him, show him around and make him feel welcome okay?"

"Yeah, sure," said Paul, not looking entirely thrilled at the idea of another designer in the company. He hadn't wanted Kyra to join when Senior told him about her. Of course his opinion had changed now but he liked the idea of being the head designer. Everyone depended on him and his ideas so the thought of another designer or drawer or whatever the hell Senior called it didn't sit all too well with him.

Kyra was having similar thoughts as she shook hands with Jason. Given the situation between Junior and Senior, this would be a perfect opportunity for Senior to get rid of Junior. Once this Jason kid was trained to the way OCC ran things, Paul could easily be fired. Kyra felt her jaw clench at the thought.

"Alright, now get out of my office," grumbled Senior, "I have work to do and I know you all do too."

"Hey, Dad?" asked Paul Jr. hesitantly.

"What?" snapped Senior.

"Could I stay and talk to you for a moment?" asked Paul, his voice barely above a whisper.

Senior nodded while he waved Mikey, Kyra and Jason out of the room.

"What is it?" asked Senior once they had left.

"I wanted to talk to you…about some things we should have talked about a long time ago," began Paul as he took a deep breath, "About what happened when Mikey and I were kids."

Senior tensed up immediately, "You know how I feel about that."

"I know, Dad but we have to talk about it or this crap will never end. I want this to end…you're my father. We shouldn't be fighting like we've been fighting recently. And with you having a heart attack and all…life's too short for things to be like this between us. I want to fix things if at all possible."

Senior studied his son for a moment before he spoke, "Okay…what do you want to tell me?"

"When we were kids, you were an alcoholic. I know it's been forever since that was an issue but back then I had to basically raise myself, especially after Mom left. I was just a kid when I started worrying about work and money and fixing food for my little brother. I had to grow up fast and I resented you for that…I knew it was because you were too drunk to do anything that I had to do all the financial work and house chores. I didn't have time to do anything or have friends…I was too busy taking care of Mikey and I've held a lot of anger and resentment against you because of it and that's not okay," Paul took a deep breath before he continued, "So I wanted to say I'm sorry for that. I don't want to hate you or resent you. I wanted you to know also that I forgive you for those years. You've been sober for almost twenty years now and I'm proud of you for that. You're not a bad dad…we all just had issues back then and our family wasn't in a good place. But now we have the opportunity to put our family in a good position and I want to take advantage of that opportunity. So do you think maybe we could let everything go and start over again? As father and son? As friends?"

Senior was clenching his jaw against the emotion that was welling up in his throat. He cleared his throat loudly before he spoke, "Yeah…yeah I think we can do that. I'm sorry Paulie," he said, choking up a bit, "I'm sorry things are the way they are. I'm sorry about the way things were when you were a kid. I wasn't a good father, no matter what you say I know I wasn't. And now here I am, treating you the same way I did back then. I hit you over the head with a damn exhaust pipe because I wanted you to use another one…God I'm screwed up. I hit my own son…"

"Dad, its okay," said Paul, tearing up as he stood to walk around the desk and hug his father, "It's in the past, let's just leave it there and move on. Today's a new day…let's leave all that darkness in the past where it belongs."

Senior nodded as he hugged his son tight to his chest, "I love you, Paulie…I love you."

"I love you too, Dad," said Junior as he wiped a tear from his eye, "You want me to get Mikey so you guys can talk too?"

Senior nodded, "Yeah that'd be good…thanks."

Junior smiled a little as he left the office. It felt good to hug his father again. He couldn't remember the last time they had done that. He walked into the design office to tell Kyra and was surprised to see Mikey and the new kid, Jason, in there with her.

"Oh, hey Paul," said Kyra, "We were showing Jason around the design office. His desk is gonna be on the far wall here and we're gonna wire up his computers and get him all set up to get to work."

Paul nodded, still feeling a twinge of unease as he looked at the overly-eager Jason Poule. Paul didn't like change, especially not with OCC. They had a method to what they did and a new, young kid could ruin that. And he could replace himself or Kyra if Senior wanted it.

"Um, yeah okay, good," said Paul, "Uh, Mikey, Dad wants to see you."

"Oh no," muttered Mikey, his face falling.

"No, its good I promise," assured Paul as he patted his brother on the shoulder, "Things are gonna be better around here soon I think."

Kyra looked up quickly and gave Paul a startled look. He smiled and nodded and Kyra broke out into a wide grin. Jason raised an eyebrow as he tried to figure out the silent conversation going on between the two designers. Kyra was too happy to notice Jason's confusion. Paul had finally talked to his dad and things seemed to be okay again. It was more than she could have ever hoped or prayed for. She lifted up a silent prayer that things would remain this way for as long as possible. The OCC crew could use a bit of divine intervention after all…

…

**Please Review!**


	11. Moving Up and Moving Out

**Got the writing bug and some extra time today so here's another chapter! It's shorter but it's sort of a prelude to Part 2 which I will start working on soon (hopefully this weekend). Thanks as always for reading and reviewing! Enjoy!**

Moving Up and Moving Out

_Three Months Later…_

"Okay, is everyone here?" asked Paul Jr. as he surveyed the crowd.

Mikey and Jason were nudging each other excitedly as they waited for Junior to continue speaking. Senior was sitting next to Mikey, rolling his eyes at his younger son and hyper-active new recruit. Jason had settled into OCC and was making progress with his drawings and his relationships with Kyra and Junior, but the young kid's ADHD got on everyone's nerves once in awhile. Even Kyra, who got along with everyone, found the young man very frustrating and hard to deal with at times.

"Yeah, that's the last of them," said Ricky as he emerged, followed by some of the OCC company's executives.

"Alright, now I'm gonna let my girlfriend do most of the talking but I want to introduce her and the bikes she's been working so hard on," started Paul as he beamed with pride, "When Kyra came to OCC I wasn't too thrilled about it. I wanted to be the one and only designer and it was hard to share an office with someone else, especially a girl. Little did I know that Kyra isn't a typical girl. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me and for some reason she likes me too," Junior paused as the OCC crew laughed in amusement, "She proved that not only could she handle her own job and produce phenomenal and unique designs on time, but that at the same time she was also able to assist me on designing several specialty theme bikes for various organizations. The most notable of those was of course the never-before-created hybrid chopper-off-road bike. And now her creative genius and knowledge of chopper design and fabrication is about to be showcased in a line of choppers designed specifically for women. I think I speak for everyone when I say that OCC definitely needed a woman's touch and we got the best woman for the job. So I'm gonna shut up now and let Kyra do the rest of the talking…ladies and gentleman, my girlfriend and the most talented and beautiful woman in the world…Kyra Knightly."

Paul pulled on a nearby string and the large, black tarp that hung in the center of the shop fell to the ground, revealing Kyra standing in the middle of a line-up of gorgeous, unique and custom-made choppers. She stepped forward confidently as she began to explain her new creations.

"Thank you, Paul," she said, winking at her boyfriend, "It's truly been an honor to work with such an amazing group of people. OCC is truly the most innovative bike shop in the world and you guys always manage to push the envelope on each and every build. I'm just honored to be able to work with you guys. Over here," she said as she walked over to her first bike, "Is my first design. It's a basic, sleek framed bike with mostly light purple paint and pink detailing. It's very light-weight so it's easier for women with a smaller build to control. It's smaller and the handlebars are pulled back more than usual to allow easy access and control over the steering. This bike is a more stocky build with light blue and dark blue paint and a little bit of pink pinstriping along the gas tank here. It's a classic chopper design, just painted up for a more girly look. And the last of my creations is an off-shoot of Paul Junior's Black Widow design. Again it is smaller than the typical chopper and instead of the black and red coloring, this one is pink with black spider web details. It'll also be available in baby blue and lavender as well once we start turning them into production bikes."

The OCC crew clapped and whistled as they stood up to get a closer look at the bikes. They all shook hands with Kyra and congradulated her on the new bikes. After a few moments, Paul Jr. stepped forward and raised his hands to get everyone's attention.

"If I could have everyone sit down for a moment please," he called loudly, "I have something else I'd like to share before we all get back to work."

Once everyone was settled down, Paul Jr. gave Mikey and Rick a nod and they stood up to join him. Kyra's brow furrowed in confusion as she looked at them, trying to figure out what they were up to.

"Everyone who works for OCC has had their own bike either built or they've bought their own bike from somewhere," began Paul, "Kyra here is the only one who doesn't have a bike and I think everyone would agree with me when I say that she more than deserves one. I know her favorite bike is my Black Widow design but it's a pretty big chopper and extremely heavy. Well, with the help of my brother and Ricky, I designed and fabricated another Black Widow chopper that's smaller and lighter and built to fit her exact measurements."

Just then, Rick and Mikey re-emerged, pushing the Black Widow bike out into the center of the shop. Kyra gasped in surprise as she instantly dropped to her knees to study the bike. After a moment she gazed up at Paul in amazement.

"It was a little secret project we'd been working on for awhile," explained Paul as he smiled proudly, "We were working in that back room for the past couple months, working on it piece by piece whenever you weren't watching."

"You guys!" exclaimed Kyra, a little emotional as she realized all the extra work that her friends and her boyfriend had put into this bike just so that she could have one to call her own, "This…this is too much! Oh, I could never repay you all for this!"

"I think your mere presence is payment enough," replied Rick with a smile, "You're hard work and good attitude bring a whole new element to OCC and we all appreciate it. Paulie's right…you definitely deserve this bike. Congrats, girl."

Kyra gave Ricky, Mikey and Paul Jr. a hug while the OCC crew cheered and whistled. Senior walked over and gave Kyra a hug and thanked her for the hard work she'd put into the new line of bikes and congratulated her on her own, brand new bike.

"Alright…"

"Let me guess," said Mikey, interrupting his dad, "GET BACK TO WORK!" he shouted, mimicking Senior.

Senior laughed and patted his youngest son on the shoulder, "Yeah, good guess."

…

_Two Months Later…_

Senior called Paul Junior, Mikey, Kyra, Jason, and Ricky into his office one afternoon. The crew had been extra busy the past couple of months with building their regular production bikes, the new women's line of production bikes, as well as a new theme bike for Walmart and they were exhausted.

"I know you guys are really over-worked right now," began Senior once everyone was settled in his office, "That's why I've made a decision. It's a big decision, so brace yourselves."

Everyone exchanged surprised and nervous glances as they pondered over what Senior was saying.

Senior sighed before he continued, "Basically we've grown too big for our britches. We need more employees to build all these bikes but we don't have the room to put more people or production areas. So…that's why I've decided that we're building up. We're going to build our very own, international headquarters building down the street."

"Seriously!" exclaimed Kyra excitedly.

"Aw hell yeah!" agreed Junior as he and Mikey gave each other high-fives.

The ever-hyper Jason shook Ricky excitedly as he listened to Senior.

"I already bought the land. We're gonna start building immediately, but I gotta warn you, it'll probably take a year to get the thing built and move everything over there. So do what you can here with the bikes, just don't kill yourselves, alright? I'll keep you posted on the progress with the building throughout the next year. We're gonna take a little field trip in an hour to visit the site and I'll show you what I have in mind. We're gonna meet the contractor I hired and he'll show you guys the blueprints and the drawings he's got about what the shop's gonna look like. This thing, I can promise you, is gonna be a freakin' monster."

…

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Junior as he studied the drawings the contracter had handed to them. He held the drawing up in the direction where the new OCC building was to be built. Ricky let out a long, low whistle.

"Wow…you weren't kidding, Pops," said Mikey, "This is a beast of a building!"

"This is so freaking cool!" exclaimed Kyra as she checked out the blue prints, "Look at this…we get a retail shop here, brand new offices for designing the bikes, and the fabrication shop is like three times the size of our current one! We're gonna be building a freaking ton of bikes once this thing is up! This is unbelievable!"

"Check out this entrance," said Jason, "OCC is etched in a huge arch of glass that makes up the front of the building and it's outlaid in brick on the ground right in front of the entrance."

"Check out the parking," said Ricky, "Look at this…this is insane!"

"One year from today and we'll be moving in," said Senior as he squared his shoulders proudly, "It's the dawning of a new era…and OCC will never be the same."

Little did Senior know that his last statment was completely and totally correct in every way. OCC would never be the same again…and that wasn't necessarily a good thing…

**At this point I was going to do a sequel but I'm going to make it "Part 2" instead and just keep all the chapters together under one story. Here's a preview of Part 2!**

**PART 2 SUMMARY:**

**The building of OCC's new headquarters has been completed and the crew is busy settling in and getting down to business with an influx of new bike orders. With new fabricators and metal workers, the OCC shop is ticking away faster and more efficiently than ever before. Junior, Kyra and Jason share a large office set aside for the designing of the new theme bikes. Kyra has struggled trying to get along with the overly-hyper Jason Poule and is beginning to lose her patience, but that's not the only thing that's getting under her skin. Junior and Senior have gotten along for over a year now but as the OCC company grows larger and larger, Junior doesn't like the direction it begins to take. Senior is willing to compromise designs on the theme bikes in order to hurry them through production to make room for more bikes. Senior is making more money than he ever has before and the prospect of even more money makes him more and more greedy. Soon Senior slips back into his old ways and begins trying to control the entire shop, including the fabrication area and the designs Paul Jr. creates. Kyra sees the all-too-familiar signs and soon enough the fighting breaks out again, but this time Junior has had enough. As the Teutul family falls apart at the seams, it looks like nothing will ever be the way it once was. Junior starts his own business and struggles to get it up and running while trying to balance out his relationship with Kyra and trying to figure out what the future holds for them. Huge changes occur that will forever change everyone's lives at OCC and not all for the better…**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	12. Change for the Worse

**Thank you as always to everyone who is reading and reviewing! I seriously love the feedback! : ) Here is the beginning of Part 2 of the story! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still only own my OC's Kyra and Jack…although Jack won't be in the story from this point on. And yeah…still trying to figure out how I can "own" Paul Jr. and Edgar Hansen lol**

Change for the Worse

_One Year Later…_

It was a bright, warm summer morning when the building was completed. The OCC crew cheered as Senior and Junior cut the ribbon and officially declared the new building as OCC's new international headquarters. For OCC, this was the dawning of a new era. They would be able to build more and better choppers in record time with all the new space and new employees. Things around OCC were about to change drastically…and not all of the changes were necessarily good ones…

…

_Two Weeks Later…_

Kyra groaned as she rubbed her throbbing temples and shot a glare in Jason Poule's direction. The hyper-active young drawer was spinning in circles in his new office chair and Kyra was starting to lose her patience with his antics. She had given him a sketch that she and her boyfriend, Paul Junior, had created the day before and he hadn't even booted up his computer to make the 3-D model of it so the crew could begin fabrication.

"Jason," said Kyra through clenched teeth, "Please stop that."

"What?" asked Jason, with a big goofy grin plastered on his face, "I'm just having fun…you should try it sometime."

"I do, outside of work," grumbled Kyra as Paul Jr. walked into the room.

Paul took one look at Kyra's face and knew instantly that Jason must be causing issues again.

"Jason," snapped Paul, "Where's my 3-D model?"

Jason shrugged, "Haven't gotten around to it yet."

"Maybe you should 'get around to it' now," replied Paul, giving Jason a very stern look.

Jason shrugged again and yawned as he turned on his computer. Kyra narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance as Jason started humming a tune and messing around with his touch-screen monitor.

"Do you think Senior would be upset if I killed Jason?" muttered Kyra once Paul was within earshot.

Paul smirked, "Yeah probably…but I wouldn't be."

Kyra smiled as Paul Jr. leaned down to give her a kiss before heading over to his own desk. They had been dating for almost a year and a half now and for Kyra it was the best year and a half of her life. Despite all the struggles they had gone through over the past year or so, she wouldn't have traded it for anything else in the world.

"Paulie!" shouted Ricky from the fabrication area.

Paul and Kyra looked up when they heard the distressed note in Ricky's voice. The design area of the new shop had a windowed front that looked out into the fabrication area. It made it easier for the fabrication crew to communicate with the design crew and it also allowed the design crew to keep an eye on their creations as they were being put together. Ricky was standing near his station and looking at a young, scrawny-looking kid with a look of exasperation and disbelief on his face.

"The new kid is annoying him again," muttered Paul as he stood to leave, "I better go remind the college-punk that Ricky's his boss."

Kyra rolled her eyes, "What is it with the new people?" she grumbled, "They all think that their ways are better than ours, well here's a newsflash for them: we've been here for a hell of a lot longer than any of them have."

Paul smirked at his girlfriend's rant. It was becoming obvious that it was getting harder and harder to adjust to the new pace and the new employees that came along with the incredibly large, new OCC building. The way things had been done for years was beginning to change and people like Paul Jr, Ricky, and Kyra weren't pleased with these changes at all…

…

"Junior!" roared Senior from the fabrication area of the shop.

Kyra flinched a little as she recognized the angry tone in Senior's voice. She turned around and looked out the window to see what was going on. Senior was holding a metal seat plate and glaring at it like he wanted to tear it apart. As Junior walked over, Senior redirected his glare from the plate to his son.

"What is this?" he asked as Paul Jr walked up to him.

"That, Dad, is a motorcycle seat," said Paul Jr, sarcastically, "It goes on a bike and you sit on it. And these things over here are handlebars. You use these to steer the bike."

"Shut the hell up," grumbled Senior irritably, "Why are you going with this style seat? I thought we were using the king and queen seat for the old school bikes?"

"Changed my mind," said Junior with a shrug, "It looks better with a more modern seat on it. Gives it a slender, more clean line to the design and that's what we were going for."

"We were?" asked Senior incredulously.

"Yeah, Dad this is my design," said Paul, looking annoyed and a tad confused by his dad's outburst.

"Yeah well, I own this place and I say we use the king and queen seat!"

Kyra winced again at Senior's outburst. This sounded painfully familiar. Senior and Junior had fought bitterly back at the old shop and on a couple of occasions the fights turned physical. They had finally made up after Senior suffered a heart attack and Kyra had hoped that that would have been the end of the fighting. For the past year or so that had been the case…but now Senior was slipping back into his old ways as he argued with Junior over the seat.

"You told me to design this bike and I did!" argued Junior, getting flustered quickly, "This is the design I came up with for the seat so it's what we're gonna use! Go build your own bike with your own seat and you can do whatever the hell you want!"

Ricky looked incredibly nervous as he watched the two Teutuls battle it out in the center of the shop. He glanced over where Kyra was sitting at her desk behind the window of the design office. They exchanged terrified glances as they waited to see what would happen.

Mikey Teutul walked into the shop and frowned in disapproval when he heard his father and brother arguing. He muttered something under his breath as he approached them.

"What are you guys getting upset about?" he asked, "Come on, remember what happened the last time you guys fought like this? Come on now, shake it off."

Senior grumbled under his breath but complied to his younger son's advice. He tossed the metal plate back at Junior, "Do whatever the hell you want," he grumbled and he stomped off to his office, "I don't give a damn."

"Why does he have to do that?" asked Junior, exasperated, "Seriously? Is he really going to go down that road again? I swear if things go back to the way they were I'm outta here. I don't care, I won't put up with it anymore."

"Whoa, there," said Mikey as he massaged Junior's shoulders, "Ease up big brother…take it easy, don't jump to conclusions. He's probably just having a bad day or something. Don't let it get to you."

Junior rolled his eyes, "Dad always has a bad day…but he hasn't fought with me over something that stupid in over a year. I swear Mikey, he's doing it again."

"Like I said, don't jump to conclusions," said Mikey as he patted his brother on the back, "Just shake it off and give Dad a little space. I'm sure in a couple hours he'll be settled back down and you guys will be goofing off like normal."

Kyra sighed and ran a hand through her now-long, brown hair. The look in Senior and Junior's eyes and their mannerisms were all-too-familiar. A bad feeling settled in Kyra's stomach as she turned back to her computer. She learned long ago that her bad feelings were usually rather accurate and that thought unnerved her. She glanced back over at Jason and saw that he was actually working on the 3-D model she had sketched up for him. At least somebody was doing what they were supposed to do…and not yelling at anyone about it either…

…

_Two Days Later…_

"Jason there is a very good chance that I may try and kill you before today is over with," threatened Kyra as she glared over in Jason's direction.

Jason just smiled and kept twirling around in his chair, "Whatever," he said with a shrug, "I already did the 3-D models for the day so I'm fine."

"If you're done designing then go into the fabrication shop and bother someone else," muttered Kyra as she tried to focus on her sketch, "It's in your contract that when you aren't designing you're supposed to be out there learning how to fabricate."

"I just tick them off," muttered Jason, suddenly looking very sad, "They yell at me and shoo me away."

Kyra raised an eyebrow at that, "Gee, wonder why?" she whispered to herself, "Fine," she said, raising her voice so that Jason could hear her, "Then come with me. I'll talk to Paul Jr. and let him know you want to learn. He's working on the bike for that Twilight movie over there with Ricky."

"You want me to learn how to fabricate by working on the _Twilight_ bike?" asked Jason, giving her a disgusted look.

Kyra narrowed her eyes at him, "It's a bike, Jason. Screw the design, just get out there and learn how to put the thing together."

Jason shrugged and followed Kyra out into the fabrication room.

"Paul!" called Kyra over the noise of a grinder.

Paul Jr turned around and flipped up his protective mask, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Jason Poule has finished drawing for the day," said Kyra, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

Ricky stifled a laugh when he saw the annoyed look on Kyra's face.

"He wants to learn how to fabricate," continued Kyra.

"He wants to learn or you want him out of the office for a couple hours?" asked Paul with a smirk of amusement.

"Combo of both," said Kyra narrowing her eyes playfully at Paul, "That and his contract says that's what he's supposed to do, so I would really, really appreciate it if he abided by his contract."

Ricky laughed at that and shook his head, "Basically she's asking us to get him off her hands for awhile so she can get her work done."

Kyra smiled gratefully at Ricky, "Precisely."

"I wasn't doing anything," protested Jason.

"Exactly…you weren't doing _anything_ therefore you were bored and twirling in your chair which really grates on my last nerve," said Kyra, attempting to keep her voice and tone at an even keel.

Paul smirked at his girlfriend, "Alright, fine, we'll deal with Jason for awhile. Get over here ADHD you've got work to do."

Kyra gave Paul a grateful look as she retreated back to her office. She sat down in her chair and sighed with relief when she realized it was now perfectly quiet again.

…

"If you weld that piece down like you did the last one I'm gonna knock off your head," threatened Paul Jr in a joking tone of voice, "Watch it! Oh, damn it Jason!"

Jason smirked a little, "Sorry…I can't seem to get the weld down right on that angle."

"No shit Sherlock," said Ricky as he came over and looked at the weld, "I'm gonna have to grind that weld down and do it again…what is this the tenth time I've done this already?"

"What have you done ten times, Rick?" asked Paul Sr. as he walked into the room.

"Uh…nothing," said Ricky when he saw the look on Senior's face, "It's no big deal, I can handle it."

"I appreciate that, but we have deadlines," snapped Senior.

"Dad we just started this bike yesterday," argued Junior, "Usually we spend about a month or more on theme bikes, so what's the big deal?"

"We don't have that luxury anymore," grumbled Senior, "We've gotta whole backorder of specialty bikes and we don't have time to sit here and goof off."

"We weren't goofing off," protested Junior, "We were teaching Jason how to fabricate."

"Well we don't have time for that crap," argued Senior, "Jason get back to the office and do what I pay you to do."

"His contract says that he has to spend time in the fabrication area," said Paul Jr, his voice taking on an annoyed tone.

"I know what his contract says, I drafted it remember?"

"Dad, come on…"

"No! Jason, back to the office! Paulie and Ricky get this bike built and stop fooling around!"

As Senior stomped back toward his office, Paul Jr threw down the wrench he had been holding and smashed it on the ground.

"This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed, "I can't handle this crap. I did this once I won't do it again!"

"Maybe you should tell him that," suggested Ricky, "Have a meeting in his office or something this afternoon. Tell him how you feel before this gets out of hand…again."

Paul took a deep breath to steady himself and nodded, "Yeah…yeah I will."

…

As Jason walked back into the design office, Kyra looked up with a surprised look on her face.

"Wow, they kicked you out that quickly?"

"Something like that," said Jason, looking depressed.

"What happened?" asked Kyra.

"More like Senior came in there and yelled and Paulie then told me to get back to the design office because I was slowing things down," said Jason, sounding very frustrated and upset by the whole thing, "I'm learning for crying out loud! Of course I'm gonna end up slowing things down!"

"Don't get yourself worked up," said Kyra quietly, "Just calm down, okay?"

Jason caught the scared look on Kyra's face and gave her a confused look, "What is it?"

Kyra shook her head and forced a smile on her face, "Um, nothing…just that…the last time Senior and Junior argued like that it wasn't pretty. It was before you joined the crew. Things got better once they talked and worked things out. They haven't fought like this in over a year."

"Junior was pretty pissed," said Jason, his eyes wide at the memory, "I didn't think you could shatter a wrench by slamming it into the ground, but…apparently you can."

Kyra winced at that, "Oh great," she muttered, "He must be really upset then."

The very worried look on Kyra's face unsettled Jason, "So…what do you think is gonna happen?"

Kyra frowned, "I don't know Jason…I don't know…"

…

"Come in!" barked Senior when he heard a knock on his office door.

"Dad?" asked Paul Jr as he opened the door, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," grumbled Senior as Paul crossed the room and sat down in a chair in front of his dad's desk.

"We're fighting again," said Junior quietly, "Like we used to…"

"Yeah well if you'd listen to what I tell you to do…"

"Dad you're ordering me around like I'm some ten year old who doesn't know how to weld!" argued Junior, "You criticized my design and scared the hell out of Jason who was just trying to learn how to fabricate! You've been rushing the bikes through production ever since we got this building and its driving us all insane. What's changed?"

"Money," said Senior, matter-of-factly, "We have to produce more bikes to pay off this building and pay for the new employees. And we have bikes on back-order and on top of all of it, I'm the boss of this whole operation so what I say goes!"

"Oh, see, there you go again!" argued Junior, "We know you're the boss, Dad! It's a well-known fact! But you can't treat everyone like shit just because you run the place!"

"You better believe I can!" roared Senior, "I'll do whatever the hell I want! And who are you to criticize me when you can't even maintain the rules stated in your contract?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Junior, looking exasperated, "I've never violated my contract!"

"Oh yeah?" asked Senior with a sarcastic laugh, "You're always five minutes late coming back from lunch, ten minutes late in the mornings and some afternoons you leave early. That's a violation of your contract!"

"Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me!" shouted Junior, "I always get my work done, isn't that the most important thing?"

"To you maybe! But just because you're my son doesn't mean that you get any special privileges! You have to follow the rules just like everyone else!"

"You think I pull that card?" asked Junior, looking infuriated at this point, "Are you serious?"

"Shut the hell up, Paul," growled Senior, "I'm so sick of hearing your excuses!"

"I'm not making excuses!"

"You've violated your contract since you started working for me twenty years ago!" roared Senior, "You always buck the system when it suits you and you expect to get treated like you're some kind of irreplaceable designer when in all actuality you are replaceable!"

"What the hell?" shouted Junior, "Where is this shit coming from? And yeah I'm irreplaceable! How the hell do you think OCC got started anyway? The reason we're famous is because of my designs! The Black Widow bike alone made us famous and it was my design!"

"No, we're famous because I'm a good business man and I hire the right people for the job!" argued Senior, "Kyra and Jason are just as good of designers as you are and I have no qualms about letting you go so cut the arrogant shit!"

"Then do it Dad!" shouted Junior as he stood up, "Do it! If you don't want me around then do it!"

"Fine! You're fired!" shouted Senior at the top of his voice, "Get the hell outta my shop! Get out!"

"Screw you!" shouted Junior as he picked up his chair and tossed it across the room. He barged through his dad's office door and into the fabrication area. The OCC crew had stopped working the second they heard the yelling and watched in shock as Junior made a bee-line for the exit.

Kyra and Jason were standing with Ricky. They had left the design office once they heard the shouting in Senior's office and made their way out into the fabrication shop where the rest of the OCC crew stood, waiting anxiously to see what was going to happen. The second Kyra saw Junior burst into the fabrication shop and turn to head toward the exit she knew that it was bad…really bad.

Paul Jr. threw open the exit door and left without saying a word to anyone. The OCC crew exchanged nervous looks as Senior emerged into the fabrication area a moment later.

"Everyone get back to work!" he roared, "Don't stand there and stare at each other, get the hell back to work!"

After Senior retreated back to his office, kicking and hitting things all along the way, Kyra shot a terrified look at Ricky.

"Do you think he quit?" she asked, her voice shaky.

Ricky shrugged, his eyes wide with dismay, "I have no idea…it looked like it though."

"Damn it," whispered Kyra as she put her hand on her forehead in despair, "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

The OCC crew numbly went back to work and Jason and Kyra retreated back to the design office. Kyra put her head down on her desk and attempted to control the overwhelming emotion that came over her. Whatever had just happened in Senior's office was bad….very bad. If Junior was really gone, then where did that leave her? What was she supposed to do now?

…

**Please Review!**


	13. In My Rearview Mirror

**Thank you so much to everyone who is reading and reviewing! I'm getting excited because of what all will happen soon in the story! :D Enjoy!**

**Note: The lyrics found in this chapter are from a song called "Lost Highway" by Bon Jovi**

**Disclaimer: Still….just own Kyra….the rest is owned by Discovery and TLC**

In My Rearview Mirror

The next morning Kyra walked into OCC, her stomach churning with unease. She made her way to the design office and opened the door. She was the first one there. She took a deep breath and sighed as she sat down at her desk and grabbed her sketch pad. Glancing at the clock she realized that she was fifteen minutes early. Jason always arrived right on time and Paul Jr. usually came in about ten minutes late every morning. She closed her eyes and prayed that Paul would come back.

Senior hadn't said one word to the OCC crew the rest of the day yesterday. No one had any idea what had happened. Junior's furious exit during the afternoon had everyone wondering whether he had quit or he had simply just ran out of the building to go blow off some steam.

Just then there was a quiet knock on the door.

"Come in!" called Kyra as she looked up over her computer expectantly.

"Hey," said Ricky as he walked inside, "Have you heard anything?" he asked, his face tense and his eyes glittering with worry.

Kyra swallowed as she felt her throat constrict a little, "No…not a word," she replied, giving Rick a sympathetic and scared look, "I don't know what to do…if he's gone then I gotta go. I mean, I'm his girlfriend. I couldn't work for his dad if he just quit."

Ricky frowned at that, "He didn't call you last night or anything?"

"No, I tried calling him once and it went to voicemail. I left him a message then didn't try calling again. I figured he needed some time to be alone."

"Oh, Kyra," said Ricky as he turned away from her and ran a hand through his tussled brown hair, "I don't know what I'd do if you both were gone…I mean it was bad enough when Vinnie left us a year or so ago but I mean…you, Junior and Mikey are the only original OCC crew left. I'd be all alone if you left."

"You'd have Mikey," suggested Kyra.

"If Junior left then I have a feeling Mikey won't be far behind," muttered Rick.

Just then the door opened and Jason Poule walked in. He glanced between Rick and Kyra and sighed, "I'm guessing no one's heard anything yet?"

Ricky and Kyra shook their heads. Jason muttered something under his breath as he sat down at his desk and rubbed his tired eyes.

"So, what's the game plan?" he asked, "What do we do if Paulie's gone?"

Kyra exchanged a glance with Ricky before she answered, "If Paul's gone then I'll be gone too. So…I don't know."

Jason looked up sharply and gave Kyra a startled glance, "You'll leave too? Who the hell is gonna design the bikes then?"

Kyra shrugged, "Senior would hire other people I guess."

"But you and Paulie are the best designers in the world!" exclaimed Vinnie, "The stuff I've drawn up for you two is phenomenal! No one designs bikes like you guys do."

Kyra smiled a little at that, "Thanks Jason…but yeah I'm afraid that'll be Senior's problem to deal with. This place is so huge and with the TV show and everything I'm sure there's a waiting list for all of our positions."

"Wonderful job security around here," sneered Rick sarcastically, "Things used to be so different…this whole thing has changed so much I barely even recognize it anymore."

Kyra nodded in agreement, "You better head out Ricky…it's almost seven and I don't want you to get in trouble hanging out here with us."

Rick rolled his eyes, "Yeah heaven forbid I take five minutes to talk to someone," he grumbled as he opened the door to leave, "Let me know when you find out about Junior," he called over his shoulder.

Kyra sighed and glanced anxiously at the clock. It was 7:00 a.m. Junior should be in by 7:15 at the latest…

…

"What do I do?" asked Kyra as she fidgeted anxiously, "It's 8:00 a.m. and he isn't here."

"Maybe he's taking the day off," suggested Jason hopefully, "You know…take a long weekend to cool off or something? I mean from the sounds of all that yelling yesterday I'm guessing the fight was pretty nasty."

"I don't know," muttered Kyra, "The only way to find out is to ask Senior I guess."

Jason flinched at that, "Um, yeah have fun with that."

"Gee thanks for the support."

…

"Senior?" asked Kyra as she walked into his office.

"What?" grumbled a very depressed-looking Paul Sr.

"I was just wondering if you'd heard from Paul," said Kyra, her voice trembling a little, "He didn't return my call last night and he's an hour late…just wanted to make sure everything's okay."

Senior's shoulders tensed up visibly at the mention of his son's name. He glanced over his shoulder at Kyra and noted her nervous fidgeting and somewhat scared gleam in her eyes.

"Kyra…Paul's gone," he said slowly, "He was terminated yesterday."

Kyra's eyes widened in shock, "Terminated?" she exclaimed, "You mean…you _fired_ him?"

"Yeah," muttered Senior, "Like I said…he's gone."

Kyra gaped in astonishment as she tried to absorb the news. The room around her felt like it was spinning as she stood paralyzed in the doorway of Senior's office. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

"Um…I…I guess that means I'm gone too then."

Senior turned to look at her, "Just because I fired Junior doesn't mean you're gone too," he said, looking confused.

"He's my boyfriend," said Kyra firmly, "I can't work for his dad's company when his dad is the one who fired him. That's not right…and besides, things around here aren't the way they used to be. This isn't what I signed up for. I'm gone…I'll pack up my office and be out of here in a couple hours."

Before Senior could say another word, Kyra turned on her heel and left his office, slamming the door shut behind her.

Jason jumped in surprise when Kyra shoved the door to the design office open and stormed inside.

"What?" he asked looking very nervous, "What is it? What'd he say?"

Just then Ricky ran into the room, "What'd he say? I saw you run in…"

"He terminated him," growled Kyra through clenched teeth, "He fired his own son."

Ricky's face went pale with the news. Jason gaped in astonishment and sat down slowly in his chair.

Kyra tried desperately to fight the emotion that was threatening to clog her throat. She felt the sting of the tears as they filled her eyes, much to her disdain. She wiped them away roughly with her hand and took a deep breath.

"So…I'm leaving too," she announced, not making eye-contact with Ricky, "I'm clearing my office and then I'm out of here."

Ricky looked utterly devastated, "Damn it," he muttered.

"I'm so sorry Ricky," said Kyra, giving Ricky a despairing look, "I really am…I loved working with you. We've built a ton of bikes and had a lot of good memories the past year and half. I'll never forget you. I'll try and keep all the positive memories of OCC in my mind after I'm gone. I want to remember this place for what it used to be…back when Vinnie was working in the shop."

Ricky gave a sad smile, "Yeah…those were the good old days. You'll be sorely missed."

"Tell Mikey what happened when he comes in this afternoon, okay?" she asked quietly, "It'd probably be better if he heard it all from you."

Ricky nodded, looking down at the ground as he tried to keep down the emotion that was now starting to overwhelm him. He'd lost a good friend when Vinnie had left and now that Kyra and Junior were both gone he was the last of the original, tight-knit OCC crew left. He suddenly felt very, very alone…

…

About an hour later Kyra jumped into her Honda Civic and started the engine. She through it in reverse and peeled out of the parking space, through it in drive and stomped on the gas pedal. She flew through the parking lot and out onto the main road and watched as OCC disappeared in her rear view mirror.

…

_In my rearview mirror,_

_My life is getting clearer,_

_The sun sets, slides, and slowly disappears,_

_All these trinkets once were a treasure,_

_Life changes like the weather,_

_You grow up, grow old, or you hit the road around here,_

_So I drive, _

_Watching white lines passing by…_

…

Paul Jr. sat on the back porch of his large house staring out into space, thinking. His heart felt as if someone had crushed it and then ran over it a few times. He hadn't expected to feel this way when he left OCC yesterday. Of course at the time he had only felt rage and a strong sense of injustice as he stormed out of the building for the last time. For over a year he, his dad and Mikey had gotten along so well…it was just too good to be true. He should have known something that good couldn't have lasted for long.

He winced as he thought about Kyra. She must be so upset and angry with him for not calling. He just needed time to be alone and to figure things out. He wondered what she was thinking…if she even knew what had happened…how she would react when she found out…

Then, as if to answer his question, Kyra appeared from around the side of his house. He stood up so fast that the chair he was sitting in clattered onto his deck.

"Hey," said Kyra quietly as she crossed her arms, "Um, you didn't answer the doorbell so I figured you'd be back here."

Paul walked over to Kyra and hugged her for a moment without saying a word. Kyra sighed with relief as she fell into the familiar folds of his arms. For those few seconds she felt utterly safe and felt as if everything was going to be okay.

"Sorry I didn't call you back," said Paul after a moment.

"I figured you needed some time alone," replied Kyra, "I, um, I went into your dad's office this morning to ask about you…he told me he fired you."

Paul clenched his teeth and nodded, "Yeah…yeah it was pretty ugly."

"Yeah…well…I quit," she said, not meeting his gaze.

Paul's eyes widened in shock at that, "You…you quit?"

"Yeah," said Kyra as she looked up at him, "It didn't feel right. There's no way I could work for your dad after he fired you."

"Kyra I have no idea what we're gonna do," said Paul, disparagingly, "Maybe you should go back to OCC…at least you'd have a job and income."

Kyra shook her head stubbornly, "No. I won't go back there ever again. That's over…it's been over for a while as far as I'm concerned. And besides, what do you mean you have no idea what we're gonna do? We're going to do what we do best…design. That's what we do and we're damn good at it. And, after all, you've made quite a name for yourself over the years. I'm sure that if you started up your own place or company people would come to you."

"You think?" asked Paul, looking skeptical, "I mean…what if things fall flat?"

"That's the thing about this business…you don't know until you try. I know it's a risk but if you're willing to take that risk then I'm willing to stand by you through it all," said Kyra as she gave Paul a confident smile, "After all…I think that Paul Jr. Designs kinda has a nice ring to it."

Paul smiled broadly at that, "You know…it does. Okay, well I have no idea where to start. I mean it's just us…we don't have any crew, no materials, hell we don't even have a building yet."

"We'll figure it out," said Kyra, "What do you say we get started right away? Tomorrow morning we'll call up some real-estate agents and go building-hunting. Once we get a place we like we'll find some crew, buy the materials and we'll just work our way up slowly."

Paul shook his head in amazement as he gazed down at Kyra, "You're just too perfect. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably sit in your backyard and mope," said Kyra with a playful smirk.

"Ha ha, funny," said Junior sarcastically as he leaned down and gave her a kiss. As he pulled away he had a sudden twinkle in his eyes.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Kyra, looking a tad concerned.

"Kyra," said Paul as he dropped to one knee, "I haven't bought the ring yet and we both just lost our jobs, we have absolutely nothing in the world but each other right now but that's good enough for me. I can't imagine going on this crazy journey without you there by my side. So…Kyra…would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Kyra's hand flew to her mouth in shock. She barely managed to squeak out a startled "yes" as she nearly tackled Paul in excitement. He laughed as he held her, thinking that despite all the darkness that had descended on them there was still one bright, shining light of happiness in his life…and as far as Paul was concerned, the light chased away all of the darkness…

…

_I finally found my way,_

_Said goodbye to yesterday,_

_Hit the gas,_

_There ain't no brakes on this lost highway,_

_I'm busting loose,_

_I'm letting go,_

_Out on this open road,_

_It's Independence Day,_

_On this lost highway_

**Please Review! **


	14. Living on a Prayer

**Thanks as always for reading and reviewing!**

**Note: The events surrounding what happened to Mikey and the founding of Paul Jr Designs is gonna be a bit different than in the "real life" version that we've seen on American Choppers. I changed the order of how things happened in order to fit my story a bit better. Also the song lyrics and the title of this chapter come from a song called "Living on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi. Just FYI : ) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anyone except for Kyra in this chapter…and I'm still sad about that fact lol**

Living on a Prayer

_We gotta hold on to what we got,_

_It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not,_

_We got each other and that's a lot for love,_

_We'll give it a shot,_

_We're halfway there,_

_Living on a prayer,_

_Take my hand and we'll make it I swear,_

_Living on a prayer_

It was early the next morning when Kyra drove up the long driveway to Paul's house and knocked on the door. Paul yawned and stretched wearily as he opened the door, but when his eyes met Kyra's he smiled broadly and gave her a big hug.

"Hey there beautiful," he crooned in her ear.

Kyra giggled a little at the sound of his deep growl so close to her ear, "Hey handsome. Ready to go shopping?"

"Geez you just got here," complained Paul, "We're leaving already?"

"We've got a lot of ground to cover," explained Kyra as she handed him a folder full of information, "This is the stuff I dug up on the three buildings that the real-estate lady wants to show us. She's gonna meet us at the first location over here. It's about five miles from OCC."

Paul grimaced at that, "So close?"

Kyra shrugged, "Doesn't hurt to show them that we aren't afraid of a little competition. Senior and OCC don't scare me…bring it on."

Paul smirked at the determined look in Kyra's eyes, "Alright…let's go. We'll take my truck."

…

"Damn it's big," muttered Paul as he and Kyra pulled up to the first building.

"Probably too big," agreed Kyra as they walked up to the entrance where the real-estate lady was standing, "I figured it was but it doesn't hurt to look anyway."

"Hello," greeted the woman, "I'm Sherri and this is one of the buildings I wanted to show you both today."

"She's huge," said Junior looking overwhelmed, "I was thinking something a bit smaller."

"No problem," replied Sherri with a smile as she tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear, "The second one I want to show you is the one that I think you guys will both like a lot. It's close to where you and Michael grew up I believe, Paul."

Paul raised an eyebrow at that, "Sounds interesting. Let's go check it out."

"Lead the way," agreed Kyra as she smiled at Sherri before turning back and climbing into Paul's truck.

…

"Dude there's no way in hell I'm gonna get this done!" exclaimed an overwhelmed and overworked Jason Poule, "God I wish Kyra was here right now."

"Yeah, well she's not so get to work," snapped Senior as he tossed the sketch back down on Jason's desk, "I want that model in 3-D form in an hour."

"Dude, I can't frickin' do that!" said Jason in exasperation, "That's literally impossible!"

"Stop making excuses and just do your job," replied Senior as he turned and left the room.

Jason shook his head as he stared at the sketch. He desperately wished that Kyra was still there. She would know what to do and she would take some of the work off of his shoulders. Despite the fact that they never really got along, Jason liked having her around. Annoying her was sort of a pass-time and with her around at least he had someone to talk to. Now the office felt ominously empty as he stared at the cleaned-off desks where Paul Jr. and Kyra once worked. Things were definitely changing around here…and Jason wasn't so sure he liked the change at all...

Meanwhile, in the fabrication area of the shop, Ricky was having a hard time concentrating on building one of the production bikes. He caught himself staring into space and blanking out on what he was supposed to do next. He half expected to see Kyra skipping into the room, excited about a new design idea that she wanted to tell him about or to see Paul Jr. walk in with his confident stride and infectious smile as he cracked a couple jokes and gave him a hand with the bike. Things just weren't the same anymore. The positive atmosphere that Paul Jr. and Kyra had created with their mere presence was gone.

Even Mikey Teutul had lost interest in playing pranks or goofing off in the shop. Now he wandered around aimlessly, doing whatever menial tasks Senior allowed him to partake in. He felt unneeded and unwanted and he couldn't help but wonder how much longer he himself would be a part of OCC. It was becoming rather obvious that he was slowly but surely being pushed out of the company. His contract was ending at the end of the week and Senior had yet to approach him about signing a new one. Mikey sighed in frustration at the whole situation while he picked up trash off the shop floor. Things were changing so fast it was beginning to make his head spin…

…

"Oh my gosh," said Paul in surprise as he and Kyra climbed out of the truck at the second location of the day, "This place is right next door to the original OCC! This street…this is where I grew up. This is my frickin' childhood right here!"

Kyra smiled when she saw the wistful look in Paul's eyes while he took a trip down memory lane. The real-estate lady, Sherri, also looked rather pleased at Paul's reaction to the location of the building. She had been banking on the fact that the location of the building alone would guarantee the sale.

"Paul look that this place," said Kyra as she studied the outside of the building, "It's the perfect size! And look at this entrance…we could do so much with this design-wise. Can we take a look inside?"

"Of course!" said Sherri as she led them to the front door.

As soon as they stepped inside Kyra knew that this would be the building. It had a partial second floor with an overhang and railing that overlooked the main section of the building, giving whoever resided in those offices a perfectly clear view of what was going on downstairs. There was a section closed off to the right that would be a perfect location for a retail store and the high ceilings would give them plenty of room to move in equipment and give the place an open feel to it.

Paul turned to look at Kyra, his eyes glittering with excitement as he envisioned what it would look like once they were done. Kyra smiled back at him and nodded her silent agreement. They had found the building that would be the headquarters for Paul Junior Designs.

…

_One Week Later…_

Mikey stalled for time outside of Senior's office, pacing back and forth and trying to figure out what he was going to say to him.

"Mike!" called Senior once he had finished his phone call, "Get in here."

Mikey walked into his dad's office and sat down in the chair across from his desk, "Hey Pops."

"What'd you want to talk to me about?" asked Senior as he played around on his computer.

"Um, well my contract is up today," said Mikey, fidgeting, "I was wondering what that meant."

"It means your contract is up."

"Yeah, Dad I get that," said Mikey, fighting the natural urge to argue with his father, "But I want to know what happens now. Do I sign another one or something? Normally you call me in whenever my contract comes close to ending so we can discuss a new one but you haven't done that yet."

"I know," muttered Senior.

"So…what's going on? What happens now?"

"Well if your contract's up then I guess you're out of a job," said Senior coolly.

Mikey gaped in astonishment, "So you're getting rid of me? Just like you got rid of Paulie?"

"No, Paulie stepped over the line," growled Senior as he felt his blood boil at the memory, "He deserved to be fired. You aren't being fired, Mikey, you're being let go. There's a difference."

"How's that Dad?" argued Mikey as he felt a wave of emotion rush over him, "You're screwing me over just as much as you did Paulie! You didn't even have the balls to tell me you were planning to let me go, you just waited till the damn contract ran out! I'm your son! Not some regular damn employee!"

"I have to treat you the same way I treat all my employees," argued Senior, "This is how it works. Mikey you don't do enough around her to warrant working for me. You don't design, build or fabricate anything you just loiter and build random things for pranks. I like having you around but it's not a good business deal to have you on the payroll. I gotta hire people to replace Paul and Kyra and I don't have room for people to loiter."

"So what you're telling me is that not only am I not needed but I never really was needed or wanted around here?" asked Mikey, his voice cracking, "Wow, Dad…that's great. Thanks."

"Don't be like that," said Senior, showing a hint of compassion, "You're still my son you just don't work for me. I think we've seen from the past that the Teutul family doesn't work well together. It's nothing personal it's just business."

"Bull shit," sneered Mikey as he stood to leave, "It was personal when and why you fired Paulie and for me it's personal that you're letting me go. This isn't business this is pure bull shit!"

Mikey stormed out of Senior's office and slammed the door behind him, swearing that he'd never again set foot in Orange County Choppers ever again…

…

"Damn it!" grumbled Paul from where he was sitting in a folding chair inside the new headquarters of Paul Junior Designs.

"Still having trouble with the design for the logo?" asked Kyra as she worked on painting another section of one of the walls.

"Yeah…I just can't get it to look the way I want it to look," he muttered as he ran a hand over his tired eyes.

"What are you going for?" asked Kyra as she sat down the paint roller and walked over to him.

"I want to have something that incorporates 'JR' for Junior but I can't come up with a design that doesn't look corny."

"Here, let's trade places for a few minutes," suggested Kyra as she took the sketch pad, "My arms are killing me anyway. You go work on painting and I'll work on the design."

Paul gave Kyra a fearful look, "Babe do you really think we can pull this off? It's taken us a week to get the lower portion of the building painted. There's no way we're gonna be able to get this place up and running alone."

"Hey, I won't have any of that negativity in here," said Kyra as she sat down to work, "Listen, Paul, of course it's hard right now and yeah it's slow going but eventually things will pick up speed. First and foremost we have to get this logo done and get it painted on our cars and on the building. Then we can try and get some ads out for various job positions and we'll hold some interviews."

"Yeah but I mean…what do we do _now_?" asked Paul as he looked around at the new building, "We gotta get this place painted and organized as soon as possible."

"Maybe we could get a couple extra people to jump on board and help?" suggested Kyra, "Got any friends that aren't from OCC that wouldn't mind lending a hand? We could offer to pay them a set amount if they help with painting and moving in and setting up equipment."

"Yeah…I'll think about it and make some calls," said Paul as he walked over to the far wall and grabbed the paint roller.

Kyra sighed as she studied the drawings Paul had come up with so far. They weren't bad but they weren't catchy either. They needed something unique and yet simple enough that people would begin to easily associate the symbol with their organization. She bit her lower lip as she concentrated and began to sketch out a few drawings and ideas down on a blank sheet of paper.

"Hey Paul!" called Kyra after a few minutes, "Check this out! I actually kinda like it…"

Paul laid down the paint roller and walked back over to Kyra. He looked over her shoulder and studied the sketch she had drawn up.

"Holy crap, how'd you come up with that?" he asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "That's awesome!"

Kyra smiled as she looked at her creation. It closely resembled a crown with three points, but the body of the crown itself was made out of a 'J' and an 'R'. It was simplistic, yet unique and easily recognizable.

"You like it?" she asked as she looked up at him, "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

Paul laughed, "No, seriously…I like it a lot. I think that's our logo, babe," he said as he leaned down and gave her a kiss. As he gazed into her excited, happy eyes, a sudden feeling of warmth spread through him and in that moment he knew that no matter what, everything was going to be just fine…

…

Paul and Kyra were sitting at Paul's dining room table enjoying a peaceful, romantic dinner when someone rang the doorbell.

"I'll be right back," said Paul as he excused himself from the table and went to answer the door.

Kyra felt herself tense up as she tried to guess who could be at Paul's door. She prayed it wasn't Senior or anyone from OCC for that matter. OCC was something she preferred to leave far behind them and never look back at. That was a chapter in their lives that had been viciously shut in their faces and they had both agreed that it was to be left in the past where it belonged. The only thing Kyra regretted was leaving behind Ricky. She and Ricky had been good friends and worked really well together and it was all-together heart-breaking to walk away and leave him there alone. She winced as she recalled the pained look on Ricky's face the day she decided to leave. That was a memory she would never be able to erase.

"Hey, Paulie," said a rather glum-looking Mike Teutul.

"Mikey! Hey what are you doing here?" asked Paul in surprise.

Kyra jumped up when she heard that it was Paul's younger and goofier younger brother at the door. She walked over and stood next to Paul.

"Hey Mikey," she said with a smile.

"Hey, Kyra," said Mikey, "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting you guys."

"No way," said Kyra kindly, "What's up?"

"Well apparently my contract with OCC is up and Dad informed me this morning that he wouldn't be resigning it or writing up a new one," said Mikey with a hard, bitter edge to his voice, "So basically I'm screwed and I don't know what to do."

Paul looked like he was going to kill someone, "Are you freaking kidding me? So he fired you?"

"Basically," muttered Mikey, "Whatever, I'm so done with that place."

Kyra shook her head sadly, "Damn…now Ricky really is the only original OCC crew member left. What is Senior doing? Getting rid of the old and bringing in the new?"

Mikey shrugged, "I dunno, that or just throwing out his family, either way its pretty effed up."

"Well come on in," said Paul, his eyes suddenly brightening a little, "Since you're out of a job I have a proposal for you."

Mikey's eyes widened in surprise at that, "Oh yeah? You got something going for you already?"

"Something like that," said Kyra as she realized the reason for Paul's sudden excitement, "But we're gonna need a few more hands if our plans are ever going to come to fruition."

Mikey smiled at that, "Well…I suck at motorcycles but hey," he said as he held up his hands, "I got two hands and I'll do whatever I can. Count me in!"

…

"Wow," breathed Mikey as he walked into Paul and Kyra's new building the next morning, "You guys weren't kidding when you told me about this place last night! It's big but not obnoxiously so. I love that second floor up there with the overhang…it's like an oversized loft."

"We figured it'd be perfect for office space," said Kyra as she looked up at it, "We can put glass walls all along the front of the offices. There's room for three spacious ones so we figured one for Paul and then the other two we can use for designers or executives or whatever else we need. Over there where it's closed off is gonna be the retail shop then the majority of space, of course, is gonna be for building the bikes."

"You guys have money for this?" asked Mikey, suddenly looking worried, "That equipment ain't cheap you know."

Kyra smirked, "Paul and I are both pretty good with our money. I made a ton at Ford when I designed all sorts of things for their vehicles and I invested it in stocks and put the rest in a bank to earn interest. Paul has a lot of money because he owned twenty percent of OCC and he put a lot of it in the bank too so money-wise we're set. Its people we need. We need manpower to renovate this place and get it ready to operate."

"Cool," said Mikey as he studied the room, "I can literally picture it now…this is gonna be freakin' awesome guys. Seriously. And it's right by the old stomping grounds too. This is perfect…absolutely perfect."

Just then the sound of a truck pulling into the parking lot reverberated throughout the large warehouse-like building. Kyra shot Paul a questioning look when she saw his eyes light up with excitement and a goofy grin spread across his face.

"Who is it?" she asked as she and Mikey exchanged confused looks.

"I have a little surprise for you guys," said Paul, still beaming, "Come outside and meet the fourth member of our team."

Kyra raised an eyebrow at that as she and Mikey followed Paul outside. The second that Kyra saw the burgundy colored truck she knew who was behind the wheel. Her eyes widened in shock as the driver stepped out of the car, confirming who it was. She felt her heart skip a beat as excitement flooded through her veins. She took off running and practically tackled the poor guy in her excitement.

"VINNIE!"

_We gotta hold on to what we got,_

_It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not,_

_We got each other and that's a lot for love_

…

**Please Review!**


	15. I Never Told You

**Thanks as always for reading and reviewing! I leave for college soon so Wednesday will be the last day I update and things are getting crazy around here with all the packing but I'll post as much as I can before I leave! Also I will still write when I'm away but as I said earlier it just won't be as often as when I updated over the summer. **

**Author's Note: There's a major plot twist in this chapter that I thought of as I was writing! It's gonna get goooood lol. Also the title of this chapter and the lyrics in the chapter are from a song by Colbie Caillat.**

**Disclaimer: I still only own Kyra *sigh***

I Never Told You

"Good to see you too, Kyra," laughed Vinnie as he tried to not lose his balance under Kyra's excited "attack."

"Are you serious?" asked Mikey, his eyes glowing with excitement, "Is this for real?"

Vinnie laughed as Kyra finally pulled away and waited for him to answer, "Oh yeah this is definitely for real. I was working at an auto shop down the street but the pay sucks and the other employees aren't much better. And besides…I missed you guys."

"Yeah we missed you too, bud," said Paul as he put an arm around his old friend's shoulders.

"Paul told me what all went down with Senior," said Vinnie as he gave Mikey and Kyra sympathetic looks, "I'm sorry about all that but I'm glad you guys finally moved on. This is something that should have happened years ago. Paul Junior Designs is the wave of the future and I'm definitely jumping on board that ship."

Kyra beamed happily, "This is just too cool! We might just actually pull this thing off!"

Paul sighed wearily, "Yeah but we've got a lot of work to do. You guys sure you're up for it?"

"Hell yeah," replied Mikey with a determined gleam in his eyes, "Let's make this place a hundred times better than OCC ever was. We'll give them a run for their money by the time we're done!"

Paul smirked at his little brother's enthusiasm, "Alright then…let's get to work!"

…

_Three Days Later…_

Rick sat his tools down on a nearby counter and wiped the grease off of his hands. He sighed, running a hand through his messy, brown hair. He never thought he'd ever dislike working at OCC but he was beginning to seriously resent the fact that Junior, Kyra and now Mikey were gone. As he looked around the shop his feeling of dismay grew stronger. There were so many new employees that he barely recognized a single person and he sure as hell didn't know even half of their names. He sighed again as he walked toward the design office and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" called Jason Poule as he worked feverishly on the computer, trying desperately to fulfill all of Senior's orders in time.

"Hey, you got a minute?" asked Rick as he looked over Jason's shoulder and saw how much the young kid was scrambling to get his work done.

"Um, technically no but I guess if I don't take a five minute break then I'm going to go psycho," replied Jason with a sigh, "So…what's up?"

Rick sighed and looked away as he sat on the edge of Jason's desk, "I dunno…I just don't feel right since they left."

Jason frowned and nodded in agreement, "Yeah I know what you mean. I mean I know I haven't been around as long as you but Paulie, Mikey and Kyra made this place run smooth as silk. It's so weird without them here…not to mention the fact that I have to do a hell of a lot more now and in even less time."

"Yeah…I really miss Kyra," replied Rick as he stared at the floor, "She…she was just so unique. Her ideas were so different and she was just so good at what she did. Beautiful, smart, funny…yeah I miss her a hell of a lot."

Jason studied Rick's saddened face for a moment. His eyes grew wide with shock as he read the message in Rick's eyes.

"Oh no," he muttered, "Oh hell no Rick…dude you do not want to go down that road!"

"What are you talking about?" grumbled Rick, still refusing to make eye-contact with Jason.

"You _cannot_ have a crush on Kyra!" exclaimed Jason, looking petrified, "That's like a death sentence dude! That's tantamount to suicide! She left this place _for_ Paulie. They're pretty freakin' serious, dude. I mean they've been dating for like…ever!"

"Yeah, I know," muttered Rick, his eyes flashing with anger for a brief second, "She's just…I don't know how to explain it. I just miss her more than anything in the world and I'd do anything to get her back."

"Oh my God," muttered Jason as he put a hand on his forehead, his eyes wide with distress, "Do _not_ do this to me! Rick, seriously man, don't do anything. Don't talk to her, don't call her, don't go out and try to find her. She doesn't work here anymore and she's with Paulie! Senior would fire your ass in a millisecond if he found this shit out!"

"What would a phone call hurt?" asked Rick, "I mean it's not like I'm going out to see her. I just…want to talk to her."

Jason looked like he was going to pass out, "Okay, Rick, seriously…you need to not do this. You're gonna get us both fired at this point. Please, just drop it okay? Kyra's gone and she's not coming back and on top of all that she's dating Paul Jr. and I don't see that changing anytime soon based on what I witnessed when they were both working here."

"Whatever," muttered Rick as he stood up to leave, "She's one of my closest friends and I haven't talked to her in over a week…so yeah I think I'll give her a call."

"Shit," muttered Jason under his breath, "Okay well if things go sour please don't mention my name…as far as I'm concerned I know none of this."

Rick smirked at that, "I wouldn't sell you out. Don't worry about it…it's my issue to deal with it and I'll handle it on my own."

Jason just shook his head, "I really, really wish you wouldn't 'handle it' at all…"

_I never told you  
What I should have said  
No I never told you  
I just held it in  
And now I miss everything  
About you  
I can't believe I still want you  
After all the things we've  
Been through  
I miss everything about you  
Without you_

…

"Damn this place is looking good!" said Vinnie as he, Kyra, Mikey and Paul Jr. finished the final coat of paint on the inside of the building.

They had chosen to paint each wall a different, bold color to give it a more modern and positive feel. Paul let Kyra pick out the colors and decide which walls to paint which color and as he glanced around the room he was very glad that he had done so. The place had totally transformed from an old warehouse to the shell of a bike shop in just three days with the help of Vinnie and Mikey.

"So what's next?" asked Mikey as he pulled down his protective face mask.

"Next we paint the outside of the building," said Kyra, "We're gonna paint it black and then put the Junior Designs logo in white right above the entrance. We wanna make it big too…you have to be able to see it clearly from the road."

"Let's do it," said Paul as he wrapped his arm around Kyra's waist and gave her a little squeeze.

Kyra smiled up at Paul as they walked outside. Just as they were unloading the paint buckets from the back of Vinnie's truck, her phone rang.

"Sorry guys," said Kyra as she pulled her phone out of her jean's pocket, "I'll be right back."

Kyra walked down the long driveway that led to the building and answered the call while Paul, Mikey and Vinnie started unloading the ladders and began to paint the building.

"Hello?"

"Kyra?"

Kyra froze when she recognized Rick's voice, "Ricky?" she asked in a whisper, glancing back nervously at the guys as they started painting, "What…why are you calling me?"

"I just wanted to say hi," said Rick, his voice shaky, "I…I miss you. Things haven't been the same since you left."

Kyra frowned and took a deep breath before she replied, "Yeah…I miss you too, Ricky. How are things at OCC?"

"Bad," said Rick with a sarcastic laugh, "It just sucks…Jason's working double time and he can't get all the work done. Senior's trying to find people to replace you and Paulie but he hasn't had any luck yet. I don't know hardly any of the new employees' names and I can't concentrate on anything anymore. God, I wish you were here."

Kyra closed her eyes for a moment as a wave of emotion washed over her. She and Rick had been really good friends and had grown close during her stay at OCC. They worked well together and operated on the same wave length. They understood each other and treated each other with the utmost respect and admiration. She missed him dearly and silently wished that things were back to the way they used to be. Despite all the excitement over Paul's new business and Vinnie coming back, she still missed the way things were when they were all working together.

"I know…I'm sorry," she said quietly, her throat tightening with emotion, "I really miss you too…I wish things were different, Ricky. I wish we could go back in time to when things made sense and life wasn't this complicated."

Rick sneered, "Yeah you have no idea how badly I wish things were different."

Kyra frowned a little at that. It sounded like there was a deeper meaning in what Rick was saying.

"So," he said after a moment, "How are you and Paulie doing?"

Kyra's brow furrowed at that, "Um, good…yeah we're doing really well actually."

Rick paused before he responded, "Oh…that's good I guess."

Kyra was now utterly confused, "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious…I wasn't sure how serious you guys actually were. I mean I know you two dated a bit while you were at OCC."

"Yeah…actually we dated a lot," said Kyra, still confused, "And…we're engaged now, so yeah we're pretty serious."

The long pause at the other end of the line unnerved Kyra. Why was Rick so concerned about her relationship with Paulie? It sounded almost as if he didn't want things to be okay between them.

"Oh…okay, um, yeah just wondering," he stammered after a moment.

The disappointment in his voice was clear as a bell in Kyra's mind. She frowned and rubbed her forehead in confusion, "Um, yeah…look Ricky I better go. We've got a lot going on today."

"Okay," said Rick, his voice breaking a little, "Don't be a stranger…I mean I know that the way things ended for you guys with OCC was bad but…I'm still here and I'm still your friend. I don't want to lose you completely."

Kyra sighed as she glanced back at where the guys were busy painting. Mikey splattered Vinnie across the face with his brush and Vinnie took off after him, chasing him around the open field next to the building. Paul glanced over his shoulder and looked at where Kyra was talking on the phone down the driveway. He smiled at her and gave her a little wave.

"Um, no Ricky you'll always be my friend," said Kyra, reassuringly, "It's just…complicated right now with OCC and Senior and Junior…it's just not really a feasible option for us to be close at the moment. Maybe when things settle down a bit I'll come visit you."

"I'd love that," said Rick, the hope and excitement in his voice making Kyra smile, "Take care of yourself, Kyra. And if you ever need anything just call me."

"Thanks, I will…you too Ricky."

Kyra slipped her phone back into her pocket and walked back down the long driveway. She walked over to where Paul was watching Mikey and Vinnie goof off in the field. He turned and gave her an amused smile.

"We're never gonna get this thing done with those two," he said with a laugh, "So…who was that on the phone?"

Kyra froze, suddenly unsure as to what she should say. But as she looked up into Paul's eyes she knew that she could never lie to him. After all…Rick was an old friend of theirs. There was no reason for him to be upset that he called.

"Um, Ricky…Rick called me," she said hesitantly.

Paul raised an eyebrow at that, "Rick called you? Why?"

Kyra shrugged, "Just wanted to say hi. He said things aren't the same at OCC anymore since we've left. From the sounds of it he's not very happy at all."

Paul frowned, "Why'd he call you and not me?"

"Maybe he was nervous about calling his boss' son whom he fired?" suggested Kyra, "If Senior knew he called you he'd probably flip out and fire Ricky."

Paul nodded but the frown remained on his face, "You two were always close," he said quietly.

Kyra's brow furrowed at that, "Um, yeah…he's one of my closest friends."

"You sure that's all he is?" asked Paul as he turned his worried gaze toward Kyra.

Kyra blinked in surprise at the question, "Yes, Paul of course that's all he is. Why would you even ask that?"

Paul shrugged and looked away, "I dunno…he just always looked at you in that way."

"In what way?" asked Kyra, suddenly feeling very alarmed by the way the conversation was going.

"Like…like I look at you. Like he cared about you more than he should," said Paul with an edge of bitterness in his tone, "Like he wanted you…"

"That's ridiculous," protested Kyra, "He knew you and I were an item. I just told him now on the phone that we're engaged. He's just a good friend and he misses talking to me and working with me."

Paul sighed, "Yeah well…I hope you're right."

Kyra frowned as she reached up and took Paul's face in her hands, turning his head so that he was looking directly in her eyes.

"Paul Teutul Junior you are the only man that I have or will ever love. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Ricky is my friend…I feel the same way about him that I feel about Vinnie. They're my best friends in the world and I love them dearly in that way and nothing more. They're my brothers…you on the other hand are my fiancé. I'm going to spend the rest of my life in your arms and your arms alone. If Ricky does or ever did feel anything for me I assure you it is not reciprocated in any way, shape or form. I love you Paul…more than anything or anyone else in the world, I love you."

Paul's worried and hardened gaze softened under Kyra's intense stare. He smiled as he leaned down and kissed her, "Baby it's not you I'm worried about…it's him. I trust you and I love you too. I just don't want anyone complicating our relationship. It's the one thing in my life that isn't complicated right now."

Kyra smiled reassuringly, "Everything will be okay. If he causes any problems I'll let you know. I already told him now isn't a good time for us to talk or hang out. I told him that we'll wait till all the dust settles and things are a bit calmer around here before we contact each other again. So there's nothing to worry about."

"Thanks babe," said Paul as he kissed her again, "Now what do you say we go try and get those goofballs over there back to work?"

Kyra laughed as she turned to watch Vinnie and Mikey's antics, "That might be a little easier said than done!"

…

_But I never told you  
What I should have said  
No I never told you  
I just held it in  
And now I miss everything  
About you  
I can't believe I still want you  
After all the things we've  
Been through  
I miss everything about you  
Without you_

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	16. True Intentions

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! I got the writing bug bad today so I have a couple more updates for you guys! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own only Kyra…sad day : ( **

True Intentions

_One Week Later…_

"Alright that tool bench is going to go over here," said Kyra as she pointed over to the far wall.

She had a hard hat on and was giving out orders to the men who were delivering the tools, supplies and other equipment to Paul Jr. Designs. Above her, on the second floor landing, there were crews working on tearing down the outer wall of the three offices and replacing the walls with glass from floor to ceiling to give Paul and whoever else would share the offices a perfect view of the work going on down below them. Vinnie and Mikey were busy organizing the tool boxes and new items as they came in and Paul was sitting outside behind a table with folding chairs conducting interviews for more designers and builders to join the company. In just a couple more days Paul Jr. Designs would be open and ready for business.

"Kyra, this is looking great," said Vinnie as he walked over and put an arm around her shoulders, "I'm sure as hell glad I joined you guys. I'm happy for you and Paulie too. It's gonna be like one big, happy family again."

Kyra smiled but a shadow clouded her gaze, "Yeah…almost."

Vinnie smiled sadly, "Yeah…I wish Rick was here too. And I almost wish Senior were here…just in a better mood and kinder to his sons."

Kyra smirked, "Keep dreaming, Vin."

Just then, Paul walked into the crowded building with a smile on his face.

"You guys won't believe this," he said as he walked over to Vinnie, Kyra and Mikey, "But I just got two more guys who want to help us fabricate some bikes and another guy who used to design bikes for Harley Davidson!"

"Damn!" said Mikey, "Not bad, not bad at all!"

"Two more days guys…then we can finally do what we do best," said Kyra, looking rather excited.

"I can't frickin' wait," said Vinnie, smiling, "It's been way too freaking long since I had my hands on a motorcycle."

"Well the wait is almost over," replied Paul as he slipped an arm around Kyra, "Things are looking up guys…things are looking up…"

…

"I can't believe you called her," moaned Jason as Rick paced around in his office.

"Well I did it a week ago and nothing bad happened so don't worry about it," grumbled Rick.

"Don't worry about it?" asked Jason, shooting Rick an exasperated glare, "Rick, dude, what the hell? You're walking on ridiculously thin ice right now. Why are you putting yourself in this position? Why are you putting _me_ in this position, more importantly?"

Rick rolled his eyes at that, "Whatever, Jason. I did what I did and it's over. I called her, I heard her voice and that's all I can ask for. After all…she's engaged so it's not like I have a shot anyway."

Jason's eyes grew round with shock, "Junior popped the question?"

"Apparently," muttered Rick, looking dejected, "So yeah nothing to worry about. It's over."

"Um, yeah there's definitely something to be worried about," said Jason as he sighed wearily, "You have a crush on an engaged woman who quit from the same company you currently work for and on top of that she's engaged to your boss' estranged son. Yeah…that could be something to be a tad bit concerned about."

"I can't help how I feel," muttered Rick as he cast a sad glance in Jason's direction, "It is what it is but she's obviously made her decision so I just have to learn to let it go."

"Thank God you're finally listening to reason," said Jason with a roll of his eyes, "Letting it go would be an incredibly good idea. Please, please do that."

Rick smirked, "I'll do my best. Meanwhile hurry up on that sketch would you? I gotta start fabricating that gas tank before Senior sticks his size twelve up my ass."

Jason groaned, "Um, yeah that's the next item on my ever-increasing to-do list."

"Thanks, Jason…for everything," said Rick quietly, "I'm sorry to burden you with this crap…I just don't have anyone else to talk to anymore."

Jason frowned and nodded, "Yeah…it's alright. Just…be careful, Rick."

"I'll try," replied Rick as he turned to leave Jason's office, "Yeah…I'll try…"

…

_Two Days Later…_

A small crowd of friends and new employees stood outside of the warehouse building early that morning waiting with anticipation as Paul, Kyra, Mikey and Vinnie stood near the entrance.

"Ready?" called Paul as he, Kyra, Mikey and Vinnie each raise a pair of scissors to the red ribbon in front of them.

Simultaneously they cut the ribbon and the small crowd cheered.

"Paul Junior Designs is officially open for business!" declared Paul as he raised his fist into the air in victory.

Kyra beamed with pride as she watched Paul shake hands with the people who had showed up for the ceremony. She was so proud of her fiancé. He had worked so hard to get everything set up and finally things were falling into place just as they should be.

Just before the crowd began to dissipate, Paul raised his hand and called out to them, "Hang on! Before everyone leaves I have another little ceremony I'd like to perform real quick."

Kyra, Mikey and Vinnie all gave each other confused looks. He hadn't told them about any other ceremony so this was a total surprise for all three of them.

"A few weeks ago I asked the most amazing girl in the world to marry me," he began as he turned to give Kyra a wink, "We both just lost our jobs and had nothing to go on but each other and for some bizarre reason, she said yes. At the time I didn't have a ring to offer her but I do now and I'd like to make this proposal official, so with you guys as my witnesses," he said as he knelt down on one knee and pulled out a little square box from his coat pocket, "Kyra, I'd like to formally and officially ask you to marry me. You've pulled me through all this darkness and gave me the hope I needed to make our dreams come true and now it's my turn to repay you for all that you've done. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Kyra smiled happily, "Yes, of course!" she exclaimed as Paul slipped a beautiful, silver band, princess-cut diamond ring onto her hand. She gaped in astonishment as she looked down at it, then gave Paul a hug and a kiss.

Vinnie and Mikey cheered like madmen at the sight and the crowd gathered around the young couple to congratulate them and give them their well-wishes.

Kyra smiled happily while she talked to some of the new employees that Paul had hired a couple days ago. Everything was falling right into place and she couldn't imagine how anything in the world could possible change how happy and content she felt in that moment…

…

Rick was standing outside of OCC smoking a cigarette. He tossed his cell phone around in his hands as he contemplated his options. He could back off totally and never talk to Kyra again and in turn possibly avoid Junior killing him and Senior firing him or he could take the risk and just send her a text to see how she was doing. Sighing he took another long drag on his cigarette before he flipped open the phone. He scrolled down to her name and started typing:

_Miss you…hope things are going well for you. Heard about the new business. Congrats._

Sighing he closed the phone and waited…

…

Kyra was busy setting up her new office on the second story loft when her phone buzzed. She glanced down to see who it was and froze. It was a text message from Rick. She swallowed nervously as she flipped open her phone and read the message. She took a deep breath and texted back:

_Hey, miss you too. Yeah everything's going well. Just opened shop this morning. _

A few seconds later she received a reply:

_Wow that was fast! You guys must be working hard. I'm sure you'll do great…you're the best designer there is. Paulie is lucky to have you._

Kyra frowned as she contemplated the possible double meaning in that response. She shook her head and forced herself to not think about it as she replied:

_Kyra: Haha thanks Ricky! Hope things are going better at OCC…I miss you, hell I even miss Jason! ROFL_

_Rick: Haha he'll enjoy hearing that. He misses you too believe it or not. Said picking on you was a fun hobby._

_Kyra: Ha! He would say something like that, the little punk. Anyways I better go..setting up the new office. Stay classy._

_Rick: Okay, you too. Talk to you soon._

Kyra closed her phone and sighed. She missed chatting with Rick the way she used to, back when there were no worries about what he felt, back before things changed completely. She took a deep breath and forced the issue of Rick to the back of her mind. For the time being she had a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. Paul had announced to the crew at the opening ceremony that he wanted their first job to be a modern, state-of-the-art bike for Paul Junior Designs to commemorate their new business. They had to get started on it right away so that they could start designing and building bikes for companies and organizations in order to get a steady income.

Kyra glanced over at a file on her desk. Inside the file were the designs she had come up with for the line of women's bikes. She smiled in contentment as she looked at the folder. The designs she had created for OCC had been copyrighted in her name so OCC could no longer use the designs or sell the line of women's bikes that she herself had created. Her lawyer hashed it out with Senior's lawyer and was having the bikes transferred to Paul Junior Designs that afternoon along with her specialty Black Widow bike that Paulie had built for her. The bikes were to be displayed in the window front of the building and in the retail store, all except for the Black Widow bike which she planned on taking home to use for her own personal use.

"Hey baby," said Paul as he walked into her office, "Thought I'd bring you some lunch…I went over to Wendy's down the street and got you one of those salads you like."

Kyra smiled as she gave Paul a peck on the lips, "Thank you babe! Oh this looks delicious! Here, sit with me."

Paul sat down on the other side of Kyra's desk and looked around the office. Kyra had hung up posters of her favorite bike designs along with some sketches and 3-D print outs that she and Jason had worked on back at OCC. There were some framed photographs on the wall above her computer of her, Vinnie, Mikey, Paulie and Rick back at OCC. One was of her posing like she was running away from a crazed-looking Mikey as he charged toward her in his battering ram. Paul smirked a little at the memory…he had taken that picture. Another one was of her and Vinnie looking somewhat serious as they studied the frame of an old-school bike. There was one of her and himself with his arm around her waist, holding her close. The light shining in her eyes showed the depth of her happiness in that moment and Paul had to smile at the sight. The last picture he wasn't so fond of…it was her and Rick. Rick had come up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He was smiling and she was laughing in the picture.

Kyra saw the look in Paul's eyes when he looked at that particular photo. She frowned a little at the sight.

"Paul, he's my friend," she said quietly, "Remember?"

"Yeah…yeah I know," said Paul, looking uneasy, "I just don't think that's the only way that _he _sees you."

Kyra sighed, "Well either way he's still my friend and he always will be. If he feels anything for me then that's his problem and he's just gonna have to learn how to deal with his emotions. Otherwise we have a problem."

Paul sneered, "Yeah you're telling me."

"Oh stop it," said Kyra as she narrowed her eyes at him playfully, "Stop acting so jealous…I'm marrying _you_ remember?" she added as she gazed down at the diamond now sitting on her ring finger.

Paul smirked at the look on her face as she studied the rather large diamond, "Yeah, you're right. Sorry…I just…I dunno."

"I do…I get it," said Kyra, "Trust me if you had a best girl friend who was really close to you I'd question her motives too. I just think that until we know for sure how Ricky feels about me we shouldn't jump to conclusions. For all we know he thinks of me like a sister."

Paul nodded in agreement but as he glanced back up at the photo of Kyra and Rick and saw the happiness in Rick's eyes and the way he had his arms wrapped around Kyra's waist he found himself doubting his old friend's true intentions…

…

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	17. I Just Need You Now

**Got the writing bug today lol : ) Here's another update!**

**Disclaimer: I own Kyra and no one else…and yes I'm still bitter about that lol**

**Note: Title of this chapter and the lyrics are by a group called Lady Antebellum (one of my personal faves)**

I Just Need You Now

_Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor,_

_Reaching for the phone cause I can't fight it any more,_

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind, _

_For me it happens all the time…_

_Four Weeks Later…_

Kyra hung up the phone and sighed wearily. They had just about finished the modern bike to commemorate the new company and were simultaneously working on several other bikes for companies like Sony, Warner Brothers, and even one for the Corvette car company. On top of that, Kyra and Paul had been busy making their wedding plans. In just two months they were going to be walking down the aisle. Kyra had wanted a short engagement and she was just now beginning to doubt the sense in her decision. It was taking a lot of energy just to get these bikes built, advertise their new company and making important decisions for the wedding day and it was all beginning to stress her out a little.

Paul had sense his fiancé's distress and walked into her office that morning, "Hey baby, how's it going?"

Kyra gave him a weary smile, "Um, okay…I'm tired but you know, what else is new nowadays right?"

Paul smiled sympathetically, "Yeah I know what you mean. But look at it this way…we actually get a one week legit honeymoon after the wedding. I'm gonna hand the shop over to Vin and Mikey when we leave so it'll be in good hands."

Kyra sighed and smiled at the thought, "A whole week of no work…wow. That's almost like a fairytale."

Paul laughed as he leaned over Kyra's desk and gave her a kiss, "Don't overwork yourself," he said as he turned to leave, "Take it one stride at a time. You're doing great, hun."

Kyra smiled at him as he left her office. Feeling rejuvenated after the little pep talk with her husband-to-be, she settled down at her computer and began working on the 3-D model of the bike for Sony. Eric and Rex, the two newest members of the crew, had already designed the bike and sketched it out for her. Now all she had to do was upload the sketches and make a 3-D looking model of the bike and the individual pieces for the guys downstairs to look at while they fabricated it.

She turned and looked out at the window-wall that went from the ceiling to the floor and overlooked the fabrication area downstairs. She and Paul had each taken their own offices on the second floor while Eric and Rex, the two new designers, shared the third office. They all had a birds-eye view on what was taking place downstairs below them and could call out on the intercom system when they wanted something to be changed or if they needed to make an announcement to the fabricators. It was a very efficient system that had served them well in the opening weeks.

Communication was a key factor that Paul stressed to everyone in the shop. He wanted to make sure that the breakdown of communication that occurred at OCC would never occur in his shop so he installed the intercom system and encouraged everyone to use it. There was very little confusion and no real drama between the workers so the first few weeks were moving very smoothly for the brand new company.

Just as Kyra was making a 3-D model of the gas tank, her phone buzzed.

_Rick: Hey you…whatcha up to?_

Kyra smiled slightly when she saw it was Rick. She hadn't talked to him in weeks. They'd both been super busy with their companies and hadn't had the chance to talk in a long time.

_Kyra: Hey Ricky! Long time no talk…ugh what am I not up to is the real question lol how bout you?_

_Rick: Same here…yeah things are crazy at OCC right now. Senior's having a conniption fit over the fact that you guys are doing so well so I decided to go outside for a smoke lol_

_Kyra: Oh, sorry to hear that…not sorry we're doing well though lol _

_Rick: You should stop by sometime. Say hi to me and Jason or something. Senior goes for his lunch breaks at noon and he's gone for an hour. _

_Kyra: I dunno Ricky…if I got caught at OCC I'd be dead. Senior would kill me in seconds if he saw me there._

_Rick: Nah I wouldn't let that happen. And he's always gone for an hour so it's predictable what time he gets back in. _

_Kyra: Okay…I'll talk to Paul and see what he says._

_Rick: I wouldn't bring him with you…some of the guys here have really bonded with Senior and they've developed a dislike for his sons I'm afraid._

_Kyra: That's stupid…ugh okay well I still need to tell him before I decide to go down there. I don't want to cause any problems between me and Paul or cause issues for our company._

_Rick: Yeah I gotcha…text me and let me know what he says._

_Kyra: Ok will do._

Kyra closed the phone and took a deep breath. She predicted how Paul would react when she asked him, especially since it was Rick who invited her to come over. She stood up from her desk and walked out of the office and down toward where Paul worked next door to her.

"Hey sweetheart," greeted Paul as Kyra walked into the room, "What can I do for you?"

"Um, well," said Kyra hesitantly, "Ricky just texted me."

Kyra bit her lower lip nervously when she saw Paul's face darken at that.

"Oh yeah?" he asked, glancing away, "What'd he want?"

"He…he wants me to come over to OCC and say hi."

Paul sneered and muttered under his breath, "Yeah I bet he does," he cleared his throat and raised his voice so Kyra could hear him, "If you go to OCC and Senior sees you it's not gonna be pretty," he warned.

"Yeah that's what I said, but Ricky said that Senior goes to lunch at noon and is always gone for an hour so between noon and one o'clock its safe. He said Jason wants to see me too."

Paul sighed as he looked back up at Kyra, "I dunno…it sounds risky to me."

"I'd be careful," assured Kyra, "I won't stay long. I just want to say hi to Ricky and Jason then I'll leave. I haven't seen them in forever…I miss them, even Jason as unbelievable as that is."

Paul smirked a little at that, "Yeah…alright, I mean you don't have to ask my permission to go. You're an adult…you can make your own decisions."

"Oh, I know," said Kyra, fidgeting, "I just wanted to make sure you knew where I was going. I know OCC isn't really a favorite place of ours anymore and with how you feel about Rick…I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't be upset about it."

Paul smiled a tight smile as he stood up to give Kyra a hug, "Well I'm not leaping for joy but I won't keep you from seeing your friends. Go on, it's almost noon. Have fun, be safe and don't get caught. I really don't wanna have to kill my dad to save you."

Kyra smirked at that and rolled her eyes, "Oh please, I'll be fine," she said as she walked out of Paul's office, smiling with excitement at the thought of seeing her old friends again.

…

Rick made a bee-line for Jason's office once he got the text from Kyra that said she was able to come over and visit.

"Kyra's coming!" announced Rick as he closed the door to Jason's office behind him.

"Kyra's _what_?" exclaimed Jason in shock, "She's coming where? Here?"

"No to the zoo," said Rick sarcastically, "Yes here! She'll be here in a couple minutes."

"Oh my God Rick, dude…you're killing me," said Jason, looking terrified, "Where's Senior? If he sees her…"

"Senior's at lunch," interrupted Rick, "He won't be back for an hour so we're fine. When she gets here I'll let her in and bring her in here so it won't cause a stir out in the shop, okay?"

"Oh sure," said Jason sarcastically, "No problem…bring my boss' son's girlfriend right on in! I mean it doesn't matter that he fired his own son and then she quit afterwards, that shouldn't cause any issues, no none at all."

"Shut up, Jason," snapped Rick, "No one's gonna know, okay? Just chill out. And she's not his girlfriend…she's his _fiancé_," said Rick, forcing out the word in a disgusted voice.

"Oh dear God," muttered Jason, "Yep…nothing to worry about, you're right. That's just great…fricking great Rick."

"She just texted me…she's here. Just be cool alright?" said Rick as he left the office.

"Yeah easy for you to say Mr. Casanova," muttered Jason as he fidgeted nervously behind his desk.

…

Kyra took a deep breath to calm herself down after she texted Rick. She had parked her Honda Civic in the back behind some trees in an attempt to camouflage it a bit and keep it out of sight of other employees who may know or recognize her. The whole secrecy of this meeting was putting her on edge and she didn't like that feeling one bit. It felt like what she was doing was wrong and she'd always been a stickler to the rules so it was an unfamiliar feeling for Kyra.

Suddenly her phone buzzed.

_Rick: Meet me out back…I'll let you in through the rear door._

Kyra climbed out of the Civic, glancing around nervously before she dared step out from the shadows. She saw movement ahead of her and saw a door open. She smiled when she recognized Rick's slender, well-built frame. A grin of excitement was plastered on his face as he gazed at her. She walked quickly across the parking lot and made her way over to him.

"Ricky!" she cried once she was close enough, "God I missed you!" she exclaimed as she gave him a hug.

Rick laughed as he held her close, breathing in her scent as he hugged her, "Not nearly as much as I missed you…I'm glad you're here. I didn't think you'd actually come."

Kyra smirked, "Please, and not visit you and Jason? It's been forever!"

Rick smiled, "Well I'm glad as hell to see you again. I just…I don't know, I just needed to see you I guess," he said as he tucked a stray strand of Kyra's hair behind her ear.

Kyra wasn't sure how to react to that. She looked away for a moment to collect her thoughts.

"Um, we better go inside before someone recognizes us…besides, Jason wants to see me right?"

"Um, yeah he does," said Rick, smirking a little to himself, "He's definitely…worked up about it that's for sure."

…

"Jason!" exclaimed Kyra as she walked into the design office of OCC, "I've missed you!"

Jason smiled as he stood up to hug Kyra, "Yeah I've missed you too…never thought I'd see you here again though," he added as he shot a glare at Rick over Kyra's shoulder.

"Yeah I never thought I'd step foot in this place ever again," agreed Kyra as she glanced around. Her eyes rested on the two empty desks opposite of Jason's, "Senior still hasn't hired anyone yet?"

Jason sighed, "Nope…I do most of the designs and Rick helps me when he can. It's pretty stressful but Senior says he can't find anyone decent enough to replace you."

"And he never will," added Rick as he smiled warmly at Kyra.

Jason rolled his eyes, "Um, okay I better go out and get this 3-D model to the guys before my head gets chopped off. I'll be back."

Jason left the room, shooting another warning glare in Rick's direction as he closed the door behind him.

"That really sucks," said Kyra as she gazed at Jason's desk, littered with stacks of papers and drawings, "There's no way one person can handle that job. Even when Paul and I were here things were still stressful and deadlines weren't always met."

At the mention of Paul's name, Rick glanced down at Kyra's hand. He raised an eyebrow at the impressive stone that now resided on Kyra's hand and sighed, "Um, yeah…yeah it's hard but we make do with what we got I guess."

Kyra gave Rick a sad smile, "I'm sorry I had to leave…I really do miss it around here. At least the way it used to be around here anyway."

"Yeah…I miss having you around," agreed Rick as he walked over and sat down on the edge of Jason's desk next to Kyra, "I miss _you_ period."

Kyra nodded, "Yeah…I miss you too, Ricky."

Rick smiled when he heard the pet-name she'd given him. He always loved the way it sounded when it came out of her mouth…that perfect mouth with the perfect lips and white teeth. He swallowed as he felt a rush of heat overwhelm him. He looked over at Kyra and met her steady, light-brown eyes. He felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. Without thinking, he turned so that he was standing in front of her and leaned down, capturing her perfect lips with his own.

Kyra gasped in surprise as Rick kissed her. It wasn't gentle at all…it was filled with desire and passion. She tried to pull away but his hand was wrapped around the back of her head, pushing her up against him. He leaned down, forcing her to lie on top of the desk as he deepened the passionate kiss. Kyra was overwhelmed and not sure how to react. After a moment, Rick pulled away and looked back down into her eyes.

"Rick," she breathed, still in shock, "Oh my God…Rick I'm engaged!" she exclaimed as she pushed him off of her.

Rick backed off immediately and moved out of the way, allowing Kyra to stand back up. Kyra was trembling so hard she could barely straighten out her Paul Junior Designs t-shirt. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and shook her head in disbelief.

"What the hell did I just do?" she moaned as a rush of guilt flooded over her.

Rick cleared his throat, looking a little pained, "You didn't do anything…I did. I shouldn't have, Kyra I'm sorry, I just…I couldn't help it."

"What do you mean you couldn't help it?" shouted Kyra, feeling a sudden rage at what Rick had done, "Ricky! I'm getting married to Paul Junior! You can't…you can't just…do _that_!"

"Okay I'm back," said Jason as he walked into the room, "I think I came up with…"

Jason froze in mid-sentence when he saw the horrified look on Kyra's now-pale face and the look of guilt and pain on Rick's face. He glanced back and forth between the two and when he saw Kyra wiping her mouth with her hand, his eyes grew wide with horror.

"Oh…my…God," he muttered as he shot Rick a disbelieving look, "Please…please tell me you did not just do what I think you just did."

Rick just gave Jason a heart-wrenching look before he turned back to Kyra, "I know you probably hate me now…but I just…thought you should know…I love you Kyra…I think I always have really."

"Damn it Ricky!" shouted Kyra, "You can't love me! I'm _engaged_!"

"I know," muttered Rick, looking dejected, "I just thought you should know…I know it doesn't change anything but I just had to let you know. It's been eating me alive since you left that I never told you how I felt about you."

Kyra wiped away a tear as she shook her head in disbelief, "I can't even believe this is happening…I…I gotta go," she said as she made a bee-line for the door.

"Kyra…" said Rick in vain as he watched her leave.

"Dude…you really screwed up this time," said Jason, shaking his head, "Wait till she tells Paulie…he's gonna kick your ass."

Rick sneered at that. The last thing on his mind was Paul Jr. kicking his ass. Rick was too busy mentally kicking his own ass for what he had just done. Kyra would probably never speak to him again and that thought alone hurt more than any ass-kicking ever could…

…

_It's a quarter after one, _

_I'm all alone and I need you now,_

_Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control,_

_And I need you now,_

_And I don't know how I could do without,_

_I just need you now_

_Another shot of whiskey, _

_Can't stop looking at the door,_

_Wishing you'd come sweeping in,_

_The way you did before,_

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind,_

_For me it happens all the time…_

…

**Please Review! Feedback makes me : )**


	18. It's Like I Love This Pain

**Thanks so much for all the reviews! :D Had time to write another chapter…so here it is! Enjoy and let me know whatcha think! :D**

**Disclaimer: I own no one besides Kyra…as usual**

**Note: The title of this chapter and the lyrics found within it are a song called "Love this Pain" by Lady Antebellum **

It's Like I Love This Pain

Kyra struggled to put the keys into the ignition. Her hands were shaking badly and her eyes were so full of tears that it was hard to see.

"Damn it!" she yelled at the car as she missed the ignition again.

Finally the key slipped into the ignition and she hurriedly started the car. She sat still for a moment, trying to force herself to calm down before she left. She was in absolute shock after what had just happened. One of her closest friends in the world had just declared his undying love for her and kissed her, but the worst part about it was the fact that she was engaged to Paul Jr. and Rick had known it too when he kissed her. She was torn between rage and absolute misery at the pain she knew her best friend was in. He loved a woman who could never love him back…it was beyond tragic.

Kyra took in another shaky breath as she reached down to put the car in drive. Just then, a large tan-colored Hummer roared into the parking lot. Kyra felt the breath catch in her throat and her veins turn ice cold as she recognized Paul Senior's infamous Hummer. She sent up a silent prayer that she wouldn't be discovered and waited for Senior to get out of the car. The second he did, he looked right over in her direction, his brow furrowed as he studied her car. Kyra scrunched down in the seat but deep down she knew it was useless. Senior knew what car she drove. Kyra cursed her bad luck as she put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking spot. She drove past Senior who glared angrily at her as she drove by.

…

"Somebody wanna tell me what the hell is Kyra doing in my parking lot?" roared Senior as he barged into the design office.

Jason's eyes grew round with fear, "Um, I…um…"

"Spit it out! NOW!" shouted Senior, his face turning red with anger.

"She…she came to visit," said Jason, desperately trying to find a reasonable explanation that wouldn't incite any more rage from Senior, "And…and to tell us that she and Junior are engaged now."

Senior froze when he heard that news. His jaw tensed as he absorbed what Jason had just told him.

"Fine," he said, his voice much calmer, "But this isn't to be a regular thing. She works for a rival company and she's not to set foot in here again, got it? I'll allow this visit to go unpunished because she wanted to tell you guys she's engaged, but that's it, alright?"

Jason nodded, "Yeah I don't think she'll be coming back anytime soon anyway," he muttered.

Senior narrowed his eyes at that but didn't ask any questions as he turned to leave the office. Jason sighed with relief once the door closed.

"Damn you, Rick," he muttered as he booted up his computer, "Damn you."

…

Kyra pulled back into the parking lot of Paul Junior Designs and climbed out of the car. She was still shaking a little and her eyes were bloodshot from crying. She walked into the warehouse and made a bee-line for the stairs that led up to the offices on the second floor landing.

"Kyra!" called Vinnie from where he and Mikey were busy working on a bike.

Kyra wiped her eyes and tried to force a smile as she walked over to them, "Yeah what's up?"

"We were thinking…" said Vinnie, trailing off when he saw Kyra's bloodshot eyes and tear-stained face, "What the hell happened to you?"

"Um, I went to visit Ricky and Jason," said Kyra nervously, "Didn't go over so well."

"You went to OCC?" asked Mikey, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah…I talked to Paul before I left don't worry," she said, trying to reassure herself as much as she was trying to reassure her friends, "I didn't go behind his back or anything."

"Did Senior catch you?" asked Vinnie, suddenly looking very worried.

"Yeah he saw me driving away," said Kyra, a worried gleam in her eyes, "He didn't do anything…just glared at me as I drove by. He probably yelled at the guys for letting me in."

"How are the boys?" asked Mikey.

Kyra hesitated, "Uh…they're, um, they're good I guess."

Mikey and Vinnie exchanged a glance as they narrowed their eyes suspiciously.

"Alright, spill…what are you hiding from us?" asked Vinnie.

"Uh, I really should talk to Paul about it first," said Kyra, fidgeting, "Is he in?"

"He just left to talk to a guy who agreed to do some chroming for us," answered Mikey, "He'll be back in a few."

"Okay…I'm gonna go to my office for a bit. When he gets back I'll talk to him then I'll let you guys know, okay?"

"Alright," said Vinnie, giving Kyra a concerned look as she walked away.

The second Kyra walked into her office, she closed the glass door behind her and pushed a button on the wall. Instantly the glass became opaque so that no one could see in and she couldn't see out. She was suddenly very glad for this little privacy feature that Paul had insisted be installed. The last thing she needed was for the crew to see her crying her eyes out because one of her best friends just made out with her.

She walked over to her desk and sank down into the seat wearily. She put her head on the desk and just cried until she couldn't cry anymore. She felt horrible. She had unknowingly hurt her best friend and betrayed her fiancé in one fatal minute. Even though deep down she knew it was Rick who had made the move she still felt terribly guilty. She should have never gone back to OCC. That was the biggest mistake she had ever made and she would be kicking herself for it for quite some time.

About an hour later there was a soft knock on her door. Kyra felt her heart flutter nervously as she called out, "Come in!" she winced at how hoarse her voice sounded from all the crying.

"Hey," said Paul as he walked inside hesitantly, "Vin said you didn't look so good when you got back from OCC. What happened?"

Kyra tried to fight a fresh batch of tears as they sprang to her eyes. She gazed wretchedly up at Paul and just shook her head sadly.

"Whoa, hey," said Paul as he sank to his knees in front of her chair, "Hey there, it's okay, calm down. What happened? Did my Dad see you? Did someone say something to you? Tell me, baby, I'll drive down there right now and take care of whoever upset you this much."

Kyra laughed bitterly at that thought and shook her head.

"No…no it's not like that," she said quietly, "You were right…about Ricky."

Paul tensed up instantly, "What? How do you know? Did he say something?"

"I wish that was all he did," muttered Kyra, feeling dirty and disgusted with herself, "He…he sort of…kissed me."

Paul's face transformed instantly into one of absolute fury. His eyes smoldered with rage and he forced himself to speak as calmly as possible.

"He…kissed you?" he asked, his voice more tense than Kyra had ever heard it before.

"Yeah," said Kyra as a tear escaped down her cheek, "Then he told me he loved me and that he thinks he always did…and…oh God, Paul I just feel so awful! I never knew he felt that way and then…the kiss, I feel so horrible. I'm such an awful person…"

"No you aren't," argued Paul sternly, "He kissed you not the other way around. And he knew we were engaged…no you aren't the awful one."

"I didn't mean to hurt him," said Kyra quietly, "You should have seen the look on his face…his eyes…he looked so miserable, like he was in excruciating pain…all because of me."

"Trust me…he'll be feeling worse than that when I'm through with him," snarled Paul.

"Oh, no Paul don't…please? He's in enough pain as it is," said Kyra forlornly.

"That's your opinion," snapped Paul as he stood up abruptly.

"No, Paul don't!" said Kyra desperately, "Senior's there, he'll hurt you! Paul it's not worth this! Please stop!"

Paul turned around and looked at Kyra with a very determined stare, "Kyra, I love you but Rick has stepped over the boundary line. I'll do what I believe needs to be done to fix this situation."

Kyra just nodded numbly. She knew it was pointless to argue with Paul at this point. Nothing in the world would stop him from doing whatever it was that he was going to do.

"Can you just…not kill him…please?" asked Kyra, "I mean…he is, or was I guess, my best friend."

"I won't kill him," said Paul coldly, "Only because I don't feel like spending my life in prison…and that's the _only_ reason I won't kill him," he added, his voice hard with anger as he left Kyra's office.

Kyra followed him as he climbed down the stairs and stomped angrily out of the warehouse, slamming the door behind him.

Vinnie and Mikey stopped working and watched Paul's enraged exit from the building. They exchanged worried looks as they turned to look at Kyra.

"Wow…whatever happened must be seriously bad," said Vinnie, "I haven't seen Paulie that upset since he and Senior fought right before I quit OCC."

"Can you tell us what happened now?" asked Mikey as Kyra walked over to them.

Kyra nodded, "Yeah…um, well, I was in the designing office of OCC alone with Ricky and…well, he sort of kissed me."

The can of Coca-Cola that Vinnie had been holding fell to the ground as he gaped in shock. Mikey's eyes grew as wide as saucers as he stared at Kyra like she had grown a second head.

"He…he…Rick…he…he what?" stammered Vinnie.

"He kissed me," said Kyra with a trembling sigh, "And told me he's in love with me and thinks he always has been."

"Oh…my….God," whispered Mikey.

"Yeah, it's bad," said Kyra wretchedly, "He looked so upset and so hurt…damn it. I had no clue he felt that way about me."

"Um, yeah…me neither," said Vinnie, shaking his head in disbelief, "Damn…did he know you and Paulie are engaged?"

Kyra nodded, "Yeah and Paul knows that Rick knew too. So…yeah Paul's really, really pissed off."

"Where'd he go?" asked Vinnie.

"To OCC," said Kyra, her eyes suddenly gleaming with stress and worry, "He says he's gotta do what he's gotta do to fix the situation."

"Oh shit," said Mikey, his eyes flashing in panic, "He's gonna kill Rick...Paulie's so freaking protective of you…oh God Rick's a dead man."

"I made him promise me he wouldn't kill him," replied Kyra, "But he said the only reason he wouldn't is because he didn't feel like going to jail for the rest of his life. So…it's not gonna be pretty…"

"Damn it," muttered Vinnie as he adjusted his baseball hat, "If Senior's there when Paulie gets there…"

Mikey cursed and shook his head, "It's gonna be God-awful at OCC in a few minutes…"

…

Rick felt worse than he could ever remember feeling in his entire life. He was torn between feeling horrible about what he had done and feeling relief that he had actually done it. He had wanted to kiss Kyra for so long it was eating away at him, but now that he had there was just a gaping hole in his heart that he was convinced would never be filled. He loved Kyra, he knew that, but it was just impossible. She had kissed him back, he was happy about that, but she had probably done it more out of shock than anything else.

Rick cursed himself and wondered why he had fallen for her in the first place. He knew from day one that it was hopeless. She only had eyes for Junior. He wanted desperately to text her and say sorry again but he fought the tempting urge. She needed space. And besides he figured she would never respond to one of his texts or phone calls ever again anyway. The realization that he could have just lost her for good felt like someone had just stabbed him in the gut. The pain took his breath away. He flipped open his cell phone and felt another fresh stab of pain as he gazed at the photo of him and Kyra. They looked so happy and so care-free. He wished they could go back to those days…things were so much easier and so much less complicated back then.

_She's no good for me,_

_I know that she's a wildflower,_

_She's gotta restlessness,_

_A beautifulness,_

_A thing about her,_

_And here I am again,_

_Calling her back,_

_Letting her drive me crazy,_

_It's like I love this pain,_

_A little too much,_

_Love my heart all busted up,_

_Something bout her,_

_That just don't work,_

_But I can't walk away,_

_It's like I love this pain_

Just then the sound of yelling jolted him from his reverie. He stiffened instantly when he recognized Paul Junior's voice.

"Oh God…"

…

"How the hell do you get off barging into my company yelling your fool head off like that?" roared Senior as Junior burst through the front doors, yelling at the secretary to get Rick out in the lobby immediately.

"I have business with Rick," snarled Junior, "This has nothing to do with you or OCC. I need to talk to Rick, NOW!"

"What business do you have with my head fabricator?" growled Senior.

"It's personal."

"If you don't tell me I won't let you see him," barked Senior, "So what the hell is it?"

Paul Jr. took a deep breath before he replied, "He kissed my fiancé."

Senior's eyes widened with shock, "He…what?"

"You heard me," snapped Junior, looking somewhat embarrassed, "Now…can I go see Rick?"

"Um…yeah, hang on," stammered Senior as he picked up the speaker for the intercom system, still somewhat in shock by what Junior had told him, "Uh, Jason clear out of the design office. Rick wait in there please."

"Thanks," muttered Junior reluctantly.

"Uh…yeah…just wait here for a couple minutes then, well you know where the design office is."

Junior just nodded as his dad left the lobby and walked back into the shop. He tensed his shoulders, preparing to confront Rick about his actions earlier that morning…

…

"Damn it," whispered Rick to himself when he heard the announcement.

The thought of being alone in a room with Paul Jr. terrified him. He could only imagine how furious Junior must be. He prayed that Kyra had at least tried to calm him down and talk him out of hurting him too badly before he left Paul Junior Designs.

Jason Poule walked out of the design room, his eyes wild with fear as he looked at Rick.

"Dude…it was nice working with you," said Jason as he gave him a hug, "Good luck, man."

"Gee, thanks," muttered Rick as he walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He walked around to one of the empty desks at the end of the room and sat down in the chair behind it. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever was about to happen.

…

After a couple minutes, the secretary at the front of the OCC headquarters building nodded at Paul, giving him permission to head on back to the design office. Paul walked quickly and purposefully through the door and out into the hallway. He marched down the hall, his steps heavy with anger as he approached the room.

…

Rick shivered nervously when he heard Paul Junior's familiar footsteps as they stomped down the hall. He paused outside the door and Rick could hear his heart hammering in his chest as he waited anxiously.

Suddenly the door flew open and Paul entered the room. Rick stood up instantly when he saw the rage burning in Junior's eyes. Rick held up his hands in surrender and took a step back.

"Paul, wait, before you…"

Rick was cut off as Paul wrapped a hand around Rick's throat and slammed him into the back wall. Rick choked and coughed, surprised by the sudden attack. He looked at Paul, his eyes wild with fear as he tried to choke out an explanation.

"Paul…please let me…explain…"

"There's nothing you can say that could ever justify what you've done," snarled Junior through clenched teeth, "If you _ever _touch my Kyra again…I…will…tear…you…apart!"

Rick nodded vigorously as he struggled under Paul's vice-like grip.

"I…won't, Paul…I swear…I'm sorry," he gasped as the edges of his vision began to gray-out due to a lack of oxygen. His eyes flashed with terror as he gave Paul a desperate, pleading look.

After a few more seconds, Paul released his grip from Rick's neck. Rick collapsed to the floor, gasping and coughing as his body tried to suck in as much air as it could. His throat burned from the exertion as he pushed himself away from Paul into the back corner of the room.

Paul just looked down at Rick with undisguised fury and sneered in disgust before he turned to leave, slamming the door so hard behind him that the hinges bent out of shape, causing the door to hang at an odd angle in the frame.

Rick closed his eyes as he tried to calm his racing heart and catch his breath. Another pang of intense loneliness, shame and despair washed over him. He put his head into his hands as he sat in the fetal position in the corner of the design office desperately wishing that he hadn't made such a stupid mistake. His heart felt as if it had been crushed into a million pieces and he didn't think it would ever be able to be put back together again…

…

_And here I am again,_

_Lighting it up,_

_Knowing that she'll just burn me…_

_It's like I love this life,_

_Where nothing's right,_

_Yeah something's wrong,_

_It's like I'm just not me,_

_If I can't be,_

_A sad, sad song,_

_It's like I love this pain,_

_A little too much,_

_Love my heart all busted up,_

_Something bout her,_

_That just don't work,_

_But I can't walk away,_

_It's like I love this pain…_

…

**Please Review!**


	19. Life After You

**Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I'm guessing there's only a couple chapters left but I'm not positive…my guess is there's 2-3 chapters left. The last day I'll really have time to write is gonna be tomorrow so I'm gonna do my best to get this story done before I leave : )**

**Disclaimer: I own no one besides Kyra…sadly**

**Note: The title of this chapter and the lyrics within it are by a group called Daughtry. **

**Life After You**

_Ten miles from town and I just broke down  
Spittin' out smoke on the side of the road  
I'm out here alone, just tryin' to get home  
To tell you I was wrong but you already know  
Believe me I won't stop at nothin'  
To see you so I've started runnin'…_

_One Month Later…_

Kyra glared at her computer in frustration as she tried to come up with a better design for the rear end of a new production bike. Recently, Paul Junior Designs had been able to create three brand new, state of the art production bikes that were flying off the shelves. The money was starting to come in steadily and the stress of not being able to make it was starting to wear off of their shoulders with each new bike order that came in. On top of that, they had several organizations that wanted Paul and Kyra specifically to design bikes for their corporations. The publicity that came with those builds was phenomenal. They started to sell their t-shirts to the public and Kyra began making a line of clothes for women as well as sweatshirts and even pajama pants. But with all the publicity and all the new production bikes came more work and longer hours. Additionally Paul and Kyra's wedding was less than a month away now.

Kyra groaned at that thought. Although all of the major plans and decisions had already been taken care of, there were still two key issues that she just didn't know what to do about: Rick and Senior. Senior, although there was a lot of bitterness in their shop regarding him, was still Paul's dad and should be included in the wedding. But Kyra wasn't sure how Paul felt about that. There was also her best friend Rick who had made a move on her back when she went to visit OCC. She didn't know what to do about that. If she invited him it might upset Paul but if she didn't invite him it might hurt his feelings and give him the impression that she no longer wanted anything to do with him at all.

She sighed as she looked up at the photo of the two of them that hung on her wall. Even though Rick had made a bone-headed move by kissing her about a month ago, he was still her friend. They had history together and a lot of good memories from OCC.

"God, when did my life get so complicated?" she asked as she looked up at the ceiling, sending up a prayer for guidance.

She glanced at her phone and checked her inbox. She hadn't received a single text from Rick since that day. She was torn between feeling relieved and being upset. She knew it was probably a good thing that he had cut communication with her. It was probably best for him to keep a distance and move on with his life, but at the same time it was eating her alive. She missed her old friend and wished that they could go back to the way things once were.

She studied her phone for a moment longer before she flipped it open and scrolled down to his name. She hesitated for a good minute before she started typing:

_Hey…how are you doing?_

She cursed herself after she sent the message. What the hell was she thinking? She just texted the guy that made out with her only a month ago.

"No," she told herself, "I just texted my best friend…that's all."

She sat at her desk and waited for a response. Fifteen minutes went by…nothing. She shook her head sadly and ran a hand through her long, brown hair.

"Oh, Ricky," she whispered quietly, "God I miss you."

…

Rick was working on a new theme bike when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He slipped it out and glanced at it. He froze when he saw Kyra's name pop up. He flipped open the phone and opened the text then closed it back and put it back into his pocket with a sigh. How the hell did she think he was doing? The girl he loved was getting married to someone else in a month, so no he wasn't doing well at all. He didn't want to talk to her…it hurt too much. And besides, Junior would come barging in again and this time he probably _would_ kill him.

Senior hadn't mentioned the incident to Rick even one. Although Rick knew that Senior knew everything. He had heard him and Junior yelling when Junior first came in to OCC to confront him about what had happened. Senior ignored the incident and moved on as if nothing had ever happened. Rick guessed that Senior was thinking if he ignored the issue then, with time, it would go away. Rick sneered at that thought…he should be so lucky. Falling out of love wasn't something that happened in a month, not when you're forced to do it against your will.

He sighed as he turned back to the bike, trying to clear his mind of Kyra as he began to work on the front fender of the bike…

_Last time we talked, the night that I walked  
Burns like an iron in the back of my mind  
I must've been high to say you and I  
Weren't meant to be and just wasting my time  
Oh, why did I ever doubt you?  
You know I would die here without you_

_All that I'm after is a life full of laughter  
As long as I'm laughing with you  
I'm thinkin' that all that still matters is love ever after  
After the life we've been through  
'Cause I know there's no life after you…_

…

Paul frowned as he walked by Kyra's office and saw her staring off into space yet again. She'd been doing that ever since the incident with Rick and it was starting to concern him. He wasn't worried in the sense that he thought she actually liked Rick in that way, but rather because he knew how close the two had been back at OCC and now they weren't even speaking to one another. Part of him was very happy about that fact. The last thing he needed was for Rick to cause Kyra to hesitate at all about the wedding.

He wasn't even all that mad at Rick anymore. Of course he was infuriated when the incident occurred and had taken adequate measures to handle the issue, but Rick had at one point in time been a close friend of his as well. Part of him even felt bad for the guy…after all he was in love with a woman who couldn't love him back. That was something Paul wouldn't wish even on his worst enemy.

He walked over to Kyra's door and knocked before he cracked it open, "Hey, can I come in?"

Kyra jumped a little and blinked her eyes rapidly, shaking herself from her mid-day reverie and nodded, "Uh, yeah, yeah come in."

"You okay?" asked Paul as he walked over and sat down at the chair in front of her desk.

Kyra took a deep breath before she replied, "No…not really. Everything's just screwed up right now. I mean, I have all the wedding stuff planned out and all the issues resolved except for two things and I literally have no idea what to do about either of them."

Paul frowned, "Well, what are they? Maybe I can help."

Kyra sighed, "Well one is your father. Do I invite him to the wedding? I mean I know we're all still bitter about what went down with him and OCC but he is your dad…so I guess it's up to you whether we invite him or not. Do you want him there?"

Paul looked away, a myriad of emotions playing across his face as he thought for a moment, "Of course I want him there," he said quietly, suddenly looking very sad, "I mean…he's my dad. I miss him. I miss the way things used to be with him, you know? But I don't think he'd show up."

"It's worth the try," said Kyra hopefully, "I mean…at least he'd know that we wanted him there."

Paul nodded, "Yeah…okay we'll invite him. Again, I doubt he'll show but what the hell, right? Okay so what's the other issue?"

Kyra looked away sharply, "Um…Ricky. What do I do about him?"

Paul tensed up a little but forced himself to relax, "Have you talked to him at all since…?"

Kyra shook her head, "No…I texted him this morning to just say hi but he never replied. I don't think he wants to talk to me anymore…it probably bothers him too much," she said, her face tight with pain for her old friend.

Paul nodded, "Yeah…I can imagine."

Kyra raised an eyebrow when she saw the sympathetic and almost sad look on Paul's face. She hadn't expected him to be so calm about this issue. They hadn't mentioned Rick again after that day. Kyra figured it wasn't a good idea to dwell on the issue and talk about it to Paul, especially since they were so closed to getting married. She didn't want the incident to cause any more problems than it already had.

Paul smirked when he saw the startled look on Kyra's face, "He was my friend too you know."

"Yeah…but…I guess I just figured that after he…kissed me that you would hate him," she said, still looking a bit confused, "I wasn't expecting you to sound sympathetic about his pain."

"I feel bad for him," answered Paul, "I mean obviously I was pissed that he made out with my fiancé but the guy can't help how he feels. We all used to be such a tight-knit group. It's sad to see things end this way."

Kyra nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it is…so, what should I do? Do I invite him?"

"Kyra he was one of your closest friends in the world," said Paul as he gazed intensely into Kyra's light-brown eyes, "Invite him…like my dad, he might not show up but at least he knows you still care…and at least he'll know I don't hate his guts if I invited him to our wedding."

Kyra nodded, "Okay…I'll send out the invitations. Maybe we could send one generic invitation and address it to OCC? I mean, Jason might want to come and it might make things a little less personal and awkward."

Paul nodded, "Yeah good idea…do that," he said as he stood up and stretched, "I gotta go make some phone calls. Sony is picking up their bike today so we gotta set up an area to reveal it. It'll be our first in-house reveal."

Kyra smiled at that, "We're moving up in the world. I'm proud of you Paul…you've done an amazing job. You needed this…to break out of the OCC mold and away from your father's control. I mean look at the bikes we've done so far! No way would your dad have let you build such high-tech and modern looking bikes."

Paul smiled, "True…but I had a lot of help. Like they say, behind every great man is a great woman."

Kyra smiled broadly at that and winked at Paul as he left her office. She sighed, feeling like a huge weight had just been lifted off of her shoulders. Now she could stop stressing out about Senior and Rick and get back to her work…

…

_Two Days Later…_

"Hey Rick," said Jason as Rick walked into his office and closed the door behind him, "How you holding up?"

Rick just shrugged as he looked at the sketches strewn across Jason's desk. One of the empty desks on the other side of the room had a few boxes on it. Senior found another designer he liked and had hired him. He was apparently supposed to start working tomorrow morning, much to Rick's displeasure. They needed someone to take some of the work load off of Jason's shoulders but that would mean that Jason would have to share the office with someone else and Rick wouldn't be able to walk in whenever he wanted to and talk to him.

Ever since things went down that day with Kyra and the secret was out that Rick had feelings for Junior's fiancé, Jason was a lot more open and a lot more willing to talk to Rick about how he felt. So Rick had taken advantage of the situation and whenever he was feeling exceptionally low, he would wander into Jason's office and vent about everything. Jason didn't mind it much and he actually enjoyed talking to Rick. Since Junior, Mikey, and Kyra had left OCC, Rick was the only person other than Senior that Jason really ever talked to and he was the closest thing to a friend Jason had had in a long time.

"Did you hear what we got in the mail today?" asked Jason after a moment.

Rick's brow furrowed, "No…what?"

Jason sighed as he tossed him a white, decorative card, "Senior dropped it off in here earlier today."

Rick took one look at the card and instantly knew what it was and who it was from. He opened it and read the contents, shaking his head in disbelief.

"They're inviting all of OCC to their wedding?" he asked, his brow still furrowed as he stared at the card.

"Apparently," replied Jason with a sigh, "It's weird, dude. Senior didn't even know how to react. I don't know if he's gonna go or not."

"He didn't say?"

"No not really…he just looked kinda like he was in deep thought when he brought it in here," replied Jason, "I mean it is his son who's getting married but…considering the circumstances and all I don't really know what's gonna happen."

"Are you going?" asked Rick as he tossed the card back down on Jason's desk.

Jason looked away as he answered, "Yeah…they're my friends. I mean, I feel like it'd be a good idea to at least have one person from OCC show up, you know? Show that we're not total pricks about the whole thing. What about you? You gonna go?"

Rick looked away sharply, his jaw tightening as he contemplated the idea.

"I'm not sure it'd be a good idea," he muttered, "I seriously doubt that Junior would want me there."

"But Kyra would," said Jason, giving Rick a knowing look, "You said she texted you a couple days ago. Sounds to me like she wants to work things out. You two were like best friends back in the day. I have a feeling that she'd be ecstatic if you showed up."

Rick looked down at the ground and fidgeted with a small wrench that was lying on Jason's desk, "It'd be hard…it'd be really hard to watch her walk down that aisle Jason. I'd know then that I'd lost her…it would be game over. That's kind of a hard thing to deal with."

"Yeah but dude, it's inevitable," said Jason, "She's gonna get married that day whether you're there or not. Either way it really is game over…and I know that's hard for you to hear but it is what it is. I'm sorry that it's gonna hurt, because I'm sure it'll hurt like hell, but if you really do care about her and how she feels then you'd go."

Rick shot Jason an angry look and Jason held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Just saying, dude, don't shoot the messenger," said Jason as he turned back to his computer, "I have a feeling it would make her wedding day perfect to have both you and Vinnie there…her two best friends."

Rick smiled when Jason mentioned Vinnie, "I can't believe he's working for them…man I miss that guy."

"And the wedding would be a perfect time to see him…and Mikey too," suggested Jason.

Rick smirked when he looked back down at Jason, "You're a very convincing guy, Jason Poule."

"I try," said Jason as he pretended to brush his shoulders and pop his collar.

Rick rolled his eyes at the sight, "Don't ever do that again, kid…seriously, never again. You're the whitest kid I know."

Jason gave Rick the finger and gave a little cry of fear as Rick pretended to pound him. Rick laughed as he got up and left Jason's office. Jason smiled a little smile of victory as he watched Rick walk away. He silently prayed that Rick really would show up at the wedding. Despite the fact that it would hurt Rick to watch the girl he loved marry someone else, it might just repair their tattered friendship…

…

_You and I, right or wrong, there's no other one  
After this time I spent alone_

_It's hard to believe that a man with sight could be so blind  
Thinkin' 'bout the better times, _

_must've been outta my mind  
So I'm runnin' back to tell you that_

_All that I'm after is a life full of laughter  
Without you God knows what I'd do…  
'Cause I know there's no life after you…_

**Please Review!**


	20. Walk Me Down the Aisle

**Thank you as always for reading and reviewing! My guess right now is that this is the second to last chapter, depending on how it turns out. The next chapter (should) be an epilogue of sorts and I'll leave it open for a potential sequel maybe for Christmas break when I'm back home again : )**

**Disclaimer: Still just own Kyra and Jack…and no one else…*sigh***

**Note: this chapter is a bit shorter than the others but the significance of what happens in this part of the story makes up for it : )**

Walk Me Down the Aisle

_One Month Later…_

Kyra stared at herself in the mirror for the hundredth time and adjusted the veil before she dared leave the room. She glanced back at her bridesmaids, all good friends from school and the Ford plant she used to work at and gave them a very worried look. Jack Hansen was to be her maid of honor. She and Edgar Hansen had gotten married the month before back in Seattle and they had returned to Orange County to be in Paul Jr. and Kyra's wedding. Edgar was in the other room getting dressed with the guys while Jack was busy helping get Kyra's nerves settled down a bit.

"You look gorgeous!" breathed Jack as she looked at her friend in awe.

Kyra was wearing a beautiful, silk wedding dress that fit snugly to her body and flared out a little below the hip. It accentuated her amazing figure and gave her that classic, princess look.

"Really? Are you sure?" asked Kyra as she cast one more self-conscious glance in the mirror.

"Yes I'm sure!" said Jack, now I'm gonna go down and talk to the wedding planner to make sure we're on schedule. You stay here, calm yourself down, and I'll call for you when it's time, okay?"

Kyra nodded and watched as Jack left the room. The other bridesmaids milled about, talking in excited, high-pitched voices about the wedding. Kyra turned back to the mirror and frowned a little. She was worried, but not so much about what she looked like. She wondered who would show up to her wedding. She wondered if Senior or Rick would even show up at the reception. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and told herself to stop worrying. This was her day after all…no need to let anyone upset her and get her all flustered before the big event.

Kyra took a deep breath and looked confidently into the mirror. This was going to be the best day of her life and she wasn't going to let those nagging, negative thoughts get to her…

…

"Do you think he'll come?" asked a worried-looking Paul Jr. as he adjusted his bow-tie in the other room.

"I don't know," said Mikey, sharing Paul's worried look, "But dude, this is your day. This is all about you and Kyra not about OCC or Dad or anyone else for that matter. If they decide to show up, great, if not then it's their problem."

Vinnie nodded in agreement as he buttoned up his tux, "Definitely. Just take a few deep breaths, Paulie. Everything will work out just fine."

Paul nodded as he fixed a few wild strands of hair that were sticking up on top of his head. They were right…this wasn't about anyone but himself and Kyra. He was about to officially begin the rest of his life with the woman who meant more to him than anything else in the world…that was all that really mattered right now anyway…

…

"God, I just…I don't feel right about this," muttered Rick as he leaned his head back on the passenger seat of the small pick-up truck.

"Dude, I'm proud of you, man," said Jason as he studied his spiky hair due in the rearview mirror, "I about freaked out when you called me this morning and asked if you could ride with me."

"Yeah…I just…I don't know," muttered Rick, "It feels strange. It'll be weird to see her again. It's been over two months now since we talked."

Jason gave Rick a sympathetic look, "Dude, you're doing the right thing. I have a feeling Kyra will be ecstatic when she finds out that you're there. So…let's just go do this okay?"

Rick nodded, "Yeah…yeah let's go."

Just as they were about to get out of the car, a familiar Hummer roared into the large church's parking lot. Rick and Jason exchanged startled glances with one another as they recognized the man in the driver's seat…

…

"You ready?" asked Jack, giving Kyra one last hug before she walked down the aisle.

"Yes," said Kyra, beaming with excitement, "I've been waiting for this day for a long time now…I'm ready."

Jack smiled warmly at her before she turned to walk down the aisle with the other bridesmaids and groomsmen. Kyra waited impatiently for her cue to walk down the aisle. She was trembling from anticipation and excitement as she waited…

…

Mikey and Vinnie stood next to Paul, nudging each other excitedly as they watched the rest of the wedding procession file in. Paul had decided to have two men of honor considering the fact that Vinnie had been like a brother to him for so long and he and Mikey had fully supported himself and Kyra from day one. Edgar was standing next to Vinnie, winking in the direction where Jack was standing on the bride's side of the aisle. Jack smirked and winked back at her husband.

Paul, meanwhile, could not remember feeling so nervous before in his life. His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for the music to change. He glanced around the audience to see who all had shown up. He froze when he saw Rick and Jason sitting near the back of the chapel. He couldn't help but smile a little at the sight. Kyra would be pleased to know that they had shown up despite all the drama that had taken place between all of them. As Paul searched the audience, he felt a sudden sadness clench around his heart. He didn't see his dad anywhere…

…

Kyra was readying herself to walk down the aisle when she felt a tug on her arm. She turned to see who it was and gaped in shock.

"Do you not have anyone to walk you down the aisle?"

Kyra's mouth was hanging open in shock and she found speaking suddenly to be very difficult, "Um, uh…Senior? Um…no, no I don't. My dad…my dad died when I was a little girl and I don't have any siblings or anything…what…I can't believe you came!"

Kyra wrapped her arms around Senior's neck and hugged him tightly. In that moment she could care less that he had fired Paulie and basically forced Mikey out of OCC. All she cared about was that Paul's dad was here to see him get married and that meant more to her than anything else at that moment.

"Good to see you too," chuckled Senior, looking a little embarrassed, "Now…I know things aren't right between Paulie, Mikey, you and I but…since you don't have anyone to walk you down the aisle…if you wanted, I mean you can say no it's okay I'd understand…"

"I would_ love _that!" exclaimed Kyra, her eyes bright with excitement, "Oh and Paul will too! He's gonna be so happy!"

Just then the organ music switched over to "Here Comes the Bride."

"That's our cue," said Senior as he reached out and linked arms with Kyra, "We better get going!"

Kyra beamed happily as the doors opened and Paul Senior began to walk her down the aisle…

…

Paul Junior gasped in surprise when the doors opened up. Kyra looked stunning…but more than that he was shocked to see who it was leading his bride-to-be down the aisle. His throat closed up instantly as a wave of emotion hit him. He heard Mikey echo his shocked gasp and he exchanged a bewildered and excited look with his younger brother.

Meanwhile, in the audience, Rick and Jason's mouths flew open in astonishment at the sight. Jason looked like he was going to pass out and Rick's eyes were as round as saucers as he watched the scene in front of them.

As Senior walked up to the front of the church with Kyra, the minister stepped down to meet them, "Who gives this woman to this man?"

"I do," replied Senior as he took Kyra's hand and placed it in Junior's hand.

"Thanks, Dad," choked out Paul as he reached out to his father.

Kyra side-stepped a little to give them room as Paul Jr. hugged his dad tightly. As they pulled away, Paul Jr. had to bite his lip to keep down the emotion that was threatening to spill over. Senior just smiled at his son and wiped away a tear as he moved to the side and stood next to Mikey. Mikey reached out and hugged his dad for a moment. Senior then reached out and shook hands with Vinnie as he moved to stand in between him and Edgar Hansen.

The touching moment was not lost on a single person in the room. Everyone knew the significance of what had just occurred and there was not a dry eye in the audience as the minister continued with the ceremony.

As Kyra gazed up into Paul's tear-filled eyes she was surprised to see that he was trying to get her to look at the audience. She gave him a confused look as he nodded toward the audience while the minister read the opening part of the wedding ceremony.

Kyra glanced out into the audience and gasped in surprise her eyes landed on Rick and Jason near the back of the chapel. Now it was her turn to bite her lower lip to keep down the emotion that was trying to choke her. Not only had Paul's dad shown up to the wedding, but so had her best friend Rick and even Jason Poule from OCC. She shook her head in disbelief as she smiled up at Paul. Today really was shaping up to be the best day of her life…

…

**Please Review!**

**Yep looks like I'll have an epilogue after this update and that'll be it! : ) Thanks so much for reading and please review! :D **


	21. Epilogue: The Speed of Life

**I seriously can't believe that I pulled it off, but here it is! The very last installment of my story! This one is good and long to make up for the fact that I'm ending it (which I'm super depressed about cuz this is my favorite one so far!). Thanks so much to my loyal readers and reviewers! I love you all! **

**I'm officially dedicating this chapter to JakeHarrisLover for her freaking awesome reviews and support throughout the writing of this story! **

**Author's note: This chapter contains some adult content so if you don't like, don't read and don't send me crappy reviews, please and thank you! And the title of this chapter and the lyrics within the chapter are by a group called Sugarland : )**

**Disclaimer: Still just own Kyra…despite all my best efforts during the course of this story I wasn't able to snag anyone else lol**

Epilogue: The Speed of Life

Paul Junior looked like he was ready to bolt during the reception. He kept casting anxious glances over at Kyra while she mingled with the guests. All he could think about was taking her into his arms and ripping that dress off her gorgeous body and finally making her his in every way humanly possible.

Paul grabbed a cold glass of water and gulped it down in a hurry. He couldn't think like that here. He would have to be patient and wait for the damn reception to come to an end before he and Kyra could finally be on their way to their honeymoon.

Meanwhile, Rick was hanging around the outskirts of the large reception room, looking uncomfortable and feeling a little out of place surrounded by happy people sharing this wonderful day with one another. He wished he could share in their joy. He glanced over to where Kyra stood talking with Mikey and Paul Senior. Paul Junior had an arm wrapped around her waist and looked like he was ready to bolt from the place the second he got the chance. Rick couldn't blame him for that…he'd feel the same way. As Rick stared at Kyra he noticed that she seemed to be glowing she was so happy…she was absolutely radiant in the dim lighting of the reception hall. Despite the nagging pain that resided in his gut, Rick couldn't help but smile a little at seeing her look so happy. She deserved to be happy…over anyone else in that room she deserved to be absolutely ecstatic.

Kyra suddenly had that nagging feeling like someone was staring at her. She glanced toward the back of the reception hall and caught Rick's eye. He looked away quickly and made his way back over to the little bar that was set up in the back of the room. Kyra frowned a little and nudged Paul.

"I'm gonna go see Rick real quick," she said quietly.

Senior raised an eyebrow at that and looked up to see his son's reaction. He was surprised to see a look of understanding pass between the newlyweds as Paul nodded and gave her a kiss before she turned to leave the little group. Senior smiled a little to himself. It was good to see such trust between Paulie and Kyra. It was a good sign that they would have a long, happy marriage that was for sure.

Kyra made a bee-line for the bar where Rick was ordering a drink and looking a little lost and lonely.

"Ricky?" she asked quietly as she walked up behind him.

Rick froze at the sound of Kyra's voice. He hadn't heard that angelic voice in so long that it literally sent shivers down his spine. He turned around slowly to face her, his eyes flittering from side to side as if he expected Junior to come barging over and sucker punch him. Kyra smirked at his nervous look.

"Paul knows where I am," she said, somewhat amused, "He's not gonna kill you…it was his decision to invite you."

Rick raised an eyebrow at that, "No shit?"

Kyra smirked, "No shit."

Rick couldn't help but smile at that, "Look at you…a kind, sweet young woman using nasty language. Chopper-building's rubbed off on you a little too much."

Kyra rolled her eyes, "Oh please, I learned from the best."

Rick sneered, "Well I don't know about that, but thanks."

"No, thank _you_," said Kyra with feeling, "Thank you for coming to my wedding…and for being my friend. I know things aren't quite right between us, but I'll never forget the way they were. I'm just glad you're here, Ricky. It means the world to me to have you at my wedding. Maybe down the road we'll be able to hang out as friends like the good old days."

Rick smiled at that and nodded, "Yeah…yeah I'd like that a lot actually. Just give me some time to sort things out and maybe we'll set something up. Maybe get Vinnie to join us…like a family reunion of sorts."

Kyra beamed at that, "Yeah totally…okay it's a deal. You let me know when you're ready and I'll make it happen."

"Will do," said Rick as he reached out to give Kyra a hug, "Congrats by the way…Paulie's a good guy. He was always so good to you back at OCC. Youtwo make a good couple."

Kyra was taken aback by Rick's statements, "Thanks…thanks Ricky. That means a lot to me."

Rick just smiled and looked away, "You better get back to your husband…he keeps looking over here and giving me the evil eye."

Kyra laughed, "No he's not…he's just protective. He doesn't hate you, you know."

"Yeah right."

"No, seriously he doesn't," assured Kyra, "I told you it was his decision to invite you. I left it totally up to him and he said he wanted you to be there. You guys were good friends back in the day too, you know."

"Yeah but that was before I made a move on his fiancé," said Rick as he glanced back over to where Paul was talking with Mikey and Senior.

Kyra rolled her eyes, "He's over that…we all are. I have a feeling that in a few months from now things are going to be radically different than they are right now. I mean, look at Senior. He hasn't talked to his kids in forever and there they are goofing off just like they used to. Things are changing and for the first time they're actually changing for the better."

Rick smiled at the sound of that, "Yeah…hey maybe Paul Junior Designs and OCC could team up and build a bike sometime? I mean of course we'd have to talk to our bosses about it but that'd be pretty freakin' cool, you know?"

Kyra's eyes glittered with excitement at the thought, "That would be freaking amazing! Yeah I'll talk to Paul about it after the honeymoon and see what we can do. It'd be good PR too. I'm sure the fans would love to see an official reconciliation between father and sons. Okay, well I better go. Edgar and Jack are walking over to Paul so I'm gonna go talk to them for a bit…but, I'll talk to you later okay? Call me when you're ready to set up a best friends reunion."

"I will," said Rick as he watched Kyra walk away. For the first time in a very long time a feeling of peace settled over him and in time, he knew, that things would fall back into place the way they had before.

…

"Thank God," said Paul as he kicked open his front door while carrying Kyra in his arms, "I thought that damn reception would never end."

Kyra laughed at her husband's impatience. They were staying the night at Paul's place, soon to be Kyra's place as well, and leaving in the morning to the Cayman Islands for a week-long honeymoon.

Paul laid Kyra down on his bed and straddled her. Kyra giggled and rolled her eyes, "You're skipping a few steps, babe. I'm still clothed."

Paul smirked as he leaned down and kissed Kyra deeply, "No I'm not…I got this don't you worry," said Paul as he slid off of Kyra and began to help her take off her dress. He slipped it over her head and felt the breath catch in his throat as he gazed down at her. The only things Kyra was wearing were hose and a thong. Kyra shifted nervously on the bed, suddenly very self-conscious. No man had ever seen her naked before and she was suddenly very anxious about what was about to take place.

"Oh my God," breathed Paul as he ran a hand down her flat stomach, "You're…you're so damn beautiful, Kyra."

Kyra smiled at that, relaxing instantly under Paul's touch. The awe in his eyes reassured her that she did look presentable to him. She'd been terrified that she wouldn't be able to arouse him but as she looked down and saw the bulge in his pants she knew that that wouldn't be an issue at all.

Paul hastily and clumsily took off his clothes, much to Kyra's amusement. She bit her lower lip as she watched him unbutton his shirt and Paul felt himself grow hotter at the sight. Her pupils were dilated with desire as she watched him strip in front of her. He raised an eyebrow and pretended to be a professional stripper while he made the dance music beat with his mouth. Kyra laughed at the sight as Paul dramatically took off the button-up shirt and threw his boxers across the room.

As Paul climbed on top of her, Kyra felt her breath quicken with anticipation. The gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before Paul started kissing her deeply. Kyra moaned with pleasure as Paul's rough, calloused hands explored her body. He gently squeezed her chest and Kyra groaned as her desire grew second by second. Paul started to kiss her neck and worked his way down her body, licking her nipples until they grew hard and leaving a trail of kisses down her stomach. Her body rose off the bed a couple inches as Paul's tongue explored her navel and made their way farther down her body. She cried out with pleasure as Paul reached her lower regions. He abruptly pulled away, much to Kyra's displeasure, and climbed back up on top of her. She gave him a playful glare.

"Paul Teutul Junior if you do not take me right here right now I swear to God you will regret it," she said, her voice hoarse with passion.

Paul's eyes grew wide with surprise. In that instant he couldn't remember ever being so turned on in his life. As he began to kiss her again, he complied with her demands and entered her. Kyra gasped in surprise and squeezed her eyes shut against the sharp pain. Paul whispered in her ear and kissed her neck gently while he waited for her body to adjust to the sudden entry. After a moment Kyra ground her hips against his and Paul moaned with pleasure. He moved with her and soon enough they found a good, steady rhythm. After awhile, Kyra felt a hot pleasure creeping up inside of her, then suddenly it exploded with such intensity that she cried out Paul's name. At the sound of Kyra's moans of pure ecstasy and hearing her cry out his name Paul felt himself come shortly after Kyra did.

They lay panting on the bed, lying next to one another while they fought to catch their breath. Kyra rolled over and gazed at Paul in awe.

"That…was…so…amazing," she panted as she scooted closer to him.

Paul smiled, finally feeling relaxed and comfortable as he reached out and held Kyra in his arms. He threw the blanket over them and in a few minutes they both fell asleep, utterly exhausted from the long day…

…

_One Week Later…_

"Uh oh newlyweds are back!" announced Vinnie as Paul and Kyra walked back into the shop.

"Oh God they're gonna be all romantic and crap and give each other 'that look' for the next few months," said Mikey, pretending to be disgusted at the thought.

"And we'll make out all the time and we'll make sure to do it right in front of you," said Kyra as she playfully nudged Mikey.

"Oh God please don't do that," said Vinnie, scrunching up his face in disgust.

"Okay," said Paul as he grabbed Kyra and kissed her long and hard right in the middle of the shop.

There were loud cheers and whistles from several of the workers in the building while Mikey pretended to throw up in a nearby trash can and Vinnie screamed in disgust at the sight. Paul just gave them all a very satisfied look as he turned and led Kyra back up to their office. He smacked her backside as she walked up the stairs ahead of him, inciting more groans of complaint from Mikey and Vinnie.

Paul followed Kyra into her office, giggling like a teenage boy as he closed the door behind them. He pressed her up against the glass wall and began feeling her up.

"THE WALLS ARE MADE OF GLASS YOU DISGUSTING, SICK FREAKS!" shouted Mikey from the bottom floor.

"OH DEAR GOD!" shouted Vinnie, trying not to laugh, "MAKE IT STOP! AHHH NOOO!"

Paul and Kyra laughed as Paul reached over and flipped the switch that made the glass wall turn opaque. About twenty minutes later, Paul re-emerged from Kyra's office, his hair tussled and his clothes slightly wrinkled. Mikey shook his head in disgust at his brother. Paul just gave him a goofy, sheepish grin as he walked back to his own office, feeling quite satisfied with how the day had started…

…

_Three Months Later…_

"YES!" shouted Mikey excitedly as Kyra and Paul delivered the good news.

"Dude, are you serious?" asked Vinnie, his eyes wide with excitement, "We're seriously doing a build with OCC?"

"Yeah," answered Paul, smiling happily, "I talked about it with Dad and he agreed that it'd be a good idea. It'd look good on the show and I think it'd be good for all of us to get back together for a bit and work on a project together."

Senior and Junior had discussed the future of their two companies at length ever since Paul and Kyra had returned from their honeymoon. Father and son had agreed that working together on a regular basis was totally out of the question. They'd learned the hard way that they just didn't work well together for extended periods of time and that they enjoyed running their shops a bit differently than one another. Instead they decided to maintain the two companies and get together once in awhile when a special project came along. They'd split the proceeds fifty-fifty and be able to be together as a family again.

"So what company is it?" asked Mikey.

"The military," answered Paul, "We're gonna build a bike for each of the main branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Coast Guard. They want the bikes done for a big Fourth of July celebration down in Portsmouth, VA where all four branches have bases nearby. Since it's such a big project, Senior asked us to help out. We'll do the build over at OCC since their shop is bigger than ours. I'm gonna take Vin, Mikey, and Kyra with me to help out. The rest of the guys are gonna stay here and continue working on the production bikes and maintain our retail shop. We're heading over there this afternoon to work on designing the bikes and hanging out for awhile. In the morning we start seriously working on them though so plan accordingly."

Vinnie and Mikey gave each other a high-five as they literally skipped back over to where they were building a production bike. Paul and Kyra laughed at the two best friend's antics. It was good to see everyone so happy again. It'd been such a long time since they'd all goofed off and laughed like this…

…

"Look at what the cat dragged in," announced Senior as Paul, Kyra, Mikey and Vinnie walked into OCC that afternoon.

"Heya Pops," said Junior as he gave his dad a hug.

"What's up Dad?" asked Mikey as he did the same.

Kyra and Vinnie exchanged hugs with Senior as well before he turned to lead them back to the design office. Jason was sitting at his desk in his usual position with the usual piles of sketches strewn all along his desk. Another young man was sitting in one of the empty desks working on a 3-D model of an old-school-type bike.

"Hey!" shouted Jason excitedly when everyone walked in.

"Jason!" said Kyra excitedly as she gave her old co-worker a hug, "Never thought I'd be this happy to work with you again, but I am!"

"Why thank you, Mrs. Teutul it's good to work with you again too," said Jason, beaming happily while he greeted Vinnie, Mikey and Paul Jr.

"Alright, let me go grab Rick and then we'll get to work," said Senior as he left the room.

Kyra's eyes brightened at the sound of Rick's name. He had been texting her once in awhile to make small talk and maintain contact while he worked through his personal baggage and she was excited to see him again.

"Hey, what's up guys?" asked Rick as he sauntered into the room.

Vinnie and Mikey cheered as Rick walked into the room.

"RICKY!" screamed Mikey as he grabbed him in a massive bear hug.

Rick's eyes grew wide as he felt the breath get squeezed out of his lungs, "Uh…hey…Mikey," he gasped, "Good to…see…you too."

After Mikey finally released Rick, Rick walked over to Paul Jr. and held out his hand, "Hey, Paulie," he said, avoiding eye-contact, "How you doing?"

Paul sneered at the outstretched hand and pulled Rick into a hug, "You don't shake hands with friends," he said as he gave his old buddy a good squeeze.

Rick smiled at that and patted Paul on the back, "Thanks man…I appreciate that."

Kyra smiled happily at the sight and reached over to give Rick a hug, "Hey you," she said as they hugged, "Long time no see."

"Yeah I know," agreed Rick, "It has been awhile…three months right?"

Kyra nodded.

"Wow," said Rick shaking his head, "Time flies, eh? Oh, and Kyra…what you said at your wedding reception…I'm ready whenever you are."

Kyra beamed happily at that, "Really? Okay then we'll set up a date."

Paul gave them a confused look, "What's going on?"

"Rick and I agreed that after some time had passed and things settled back into the normal routine that we'd set up a get-together with all the original OCC crew and hang out…outside of work that is, this doesn't count."

"How bout we all go camping sometime?" suggested Senior, "I got all the equipment from back when you designed that Bass Pro Shops hybrid bike, Kyra."

Kyra's eyes widened at that, "Wow that seems like forever ago! Yeah I'm up for a camping trip."

"Count me in," said Rick.

Vinnie, Mikey, Jason and Paul Jr. all chimed in that they were willing to go as well.

"Awesome," said Kyra, "Now that that's settled, we'd better get to work on these bikes. We only have four weeks to get four bikes done…that's gonna be a bit stressful."

"Yeah but we got the two best crews in the world working on this project," said Senior, "Don't stress, we got this."

Paul Jr. smiled at that as he put a hand on his dad's shoulder, "Yeah…we got this."

…

_One Month Later on the Fourth of July…_

"Ladies and gentleman," said the announcer as he stood on the stage in front of the massive audience, "We are gathered here today to celebrate the men and women of the United States military and we are here in celebration of the reunited Teutul clan."

Everyone cheered loudly and started chanting for the OCC and Paul Junior Designs crew to come out on stage.

"So without further ado," said the announcer, "Ladies and gentlemen, the men and the woman of Orange County Choppers and Paul Junior Designs!"

The crowd went wild as the sound of motorcycles being started up filled the area. Soon, four choppers pulled up onto the stage off of four separate ramps. Senior was on the Army chopper, Junior was riding the Navy chopper, Mikey rode in on the Air Force bike and Kyra rode in on the Coast Guard bike. Vinnie, Rick and the rest of the crews walked up the stairs to join them. They met each other in the center of the stage and got off the bikes. Paul Jr. slipped his arm around Kyra's waist while Senior reached out to take the microphone.

"We're honored to be able to build these bikes for the military," said Senior, beaming with pride, "And we're also very honored to have been able to reconcile our differences in order to get this project done. I'm happy to say that the Teutul family is officially reunited. We will continue to run the companies separately because I believe it's been made rather obvious that working together for extended periods of time just doesn't go over so well for us, but we'll be working together once in awhile on special projects. So thank you again and it was an honor to do this project."

The crowd cheered while Junior reached out for the microphone, "Yeah it's nice having the family together without all the yelling and screaming…well, for the most part there isn't any yelling and screaming," Paul Jr. paused while the crowd laughed in amusement, "And I'm also excited to say that this is Kyra's first big project as a Teutul herself. She's a wonderful addition to the Teutul family and I'm pretty sure she's the only sane, calm one of the family too. Thanks again for letting us build these bikes and we hope you enjoy them."

The crowd cheered as the OCC and Paul Junior Designs crew exited the stage. Kyra smiled as she watched Senior put a massive arm around Junior's shoulders. Rick ran up to catch up to her and gave her an excited smile. They exchanged a quick hug as they ran to catch up with the rest of the crew. Vinnie smiled as he watched Rick and Kyra acting like they had back in the old days of OCC. Things really were starting to fall back into place as they were always meant to be…

…

_The next weekend…_

"Dude you suck at pitching a tent," said Jason with an amused smirk on his face.

"You wanna bet?" asked Vinnie, smiling a goofy-looking smile.

"You're such a perv," laughed Rick as he punched his friend in the arm, "Here I'll help you out with that."

"Thanks, Rick," said Vinnie as Mikey strolled over to see what was going on. The three old friends goofed off and poked each other with the sticks they were supposed to be using to set up the tent.

"They're never gonna get that think pitched by nightfall," said Paul Jr. as he watched the spectacle, standing outside the tent he and Kyra had just set up.

Kyra smirked as she looked over her shoulder and saw the guys acting up like they used to, "Aw let them do what they wanna do. If they end up sleeping in the open, so be it. At least they're happy."

Paul nodded as he smiled down at his wife, "You're right…but they won't be happy in the morning once the mosquitoes have eaten them alive."

"What the hell are you knuckleheads doing over there?" asked Senior as he emerged from his tent and looked over where the guys were goofing off.

"Trying to pitch a tent!" called Mikey.

"I could make a really sarcastic comment about that," muttered Senior as he chuckled in amusement.

Kyra rolled her eyes, "You're all such pervs," she said with a smirk.

"Alright geniuses!" shouted Senior, "Get your asses over here! We're gonna make us a big, old-fashioned campfire!"

"Oh dear Lord," muttered Kyra, "A bunch of pyromaniacs and a huge campfire…why do I have a feeling that this isn't gonna be an average, run-of-a-mill campfire?"

Paul Jr. just gave her a mischievous grin and let out an evil laugh as he high-fived Mikey. Rick, Vinnie and Jason brought over a large wooden box and sat it near the area that Senior had set aside for the fire. They piled on logs and sticks while Kyra settled down on one of the fold out chairs nearby. Once the firewood pile was high enough, Senior poured on some gasoline then lit a match. Instantly the wood caught fire and in a few minutes they had a good, roaring fire.

Everyone cheered with excitement as they settled down in the fold-out chairs around the campfire. Rick, Vinnie, Jason, Mikey and Paul Jr. kept exchanging knowing looks and glancing at the suspicious-looking wooden box nearby. Kyra narrowed her eyes at them and silently wondered what in the world was in that box. Senior on the other hand, seemed oblivious to the entire thing as he stoked the fire.

"This is nice," he said as he settled back down into his chair, "All of us together, doing something besides building bikes."

Everyone nodded in agreement as they sipped on cans of beer. After a moment Paul Jr. nudged Kyra and whispered something in her ear. She nodded excitedly.

"Yeah go ahead," she said.

"Go ahead what?" asked Senior.

"Well…Kyra and I have an announcement and we figured now as good a time as any to tell you all," began Paul Jr. as he stood up to get everyone's attention, "We're pregnant!"

Everyone jumped up out of their chairs and cheered in excitement. Senior nearly tackled his son as he hugged him, his eyes watery with emotion. Rick and Vinnie made their way over to Kyra and gave her hugs and congratulations on the news. Mikey was tearing up as he hugged Paul Jr. and congratulated him. Jason looked flabbergasted and he jumped from one foot to another in his excitement.

"You know," said Rick, his eyes glittering with excitement, "There's only one way to really celebrate this momentous occasion."

Paul's grinned mischievously as he and Rick exchanged a knowing look. Kyra suddenly felt very concerned when everyone started chuckling and punching each other excitedly. She exchanged a confused look with Senior.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" she whispered to him.

"No freakin' clue," said Senior, looking equally concerned.

"Ready Ricky-Ticky-Tavy?" called out Junior as he lifted the box over his head and prepared to throw it into the flames.

Rick laughed as he nodded, "Throw 'em in Paulie!"

The second the box hit the flames everyone scattered. Kyra let out a startled yelp as Junior grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the fire. Senior ran after everyone, his eyes wild with fear.

"What the hell did you guys do?" he shouted.

Once they were a safe distance away, the guys turned around to watch the display. Suddenly a loud, popping sound came from the fire and a stream of light shot up into the sky. It exploded, displaying an array of color into the night sky.

"Oh my God," said Kyra, "You guys threw a box of fireworks in there!" she shouted, suddenly looking very worried as other streams of light burst out of the fire in all different directions.

Everyone started screaming and jumping out of the way as the fireworks exploded all over the place. Once the crazy display was finally over, everyone lay on the ground laughing hysterically. Even Kyra and Senior were laughing so hard that there were tears in their eyes. Even though it was a crazy idea and a potentially very dangerous one at that, they were all just happy to be together again, fooling around and acting like little kids.

As Kyra looked around her and saw all of her friends and her husband all reunited again and having the time of their lives she felt a sudden peace wash over her like she had never felt before. She thought back to when she had first joined OCC and met Paul. Things had changed so much and so fast between then and now that it seemed like they had moved at twice the speed of life. It had been a long, hard journey to get to this point but she was so glad that they were finally there, and no matter what happened in the future, she knew that they'd face it together. She stood up and brushed the grass off of her clothes as she walked over to join everyone back at the campfire, smiling at the bright future she saw for all of them…

_The morning light sure took us by surprise,  
We grabbed our clothes,  
Watched a beautiful sunrise,  
We were one together,  
And we must have talked forever,  
And it was then and there I realized that,_

I don't want to wait even one more night,  
It's hard to slow it down when it feels so right,  
Knees buckled, white knuckled,  
We're holdin' on tight (holdin' on tight),  
We're traveling at twice the speed of life!

…

**THE END!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! :D **


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